Review: Stonedial

Stonedial by George Konrád
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book appears to be obscure, as there are only three other reviews and none in English. My English edition was published in 2000, which is before goodreads really became around, so perhaps that is why so few entries? I have discovered through goodreads this book is listed as a second in a series, although there is no indication of that in my book.

The book was a frustrating read, for at least the first half. I almost put it aside and DNF it multiple times but kept going since it’s not overly long and have owned the book for many years. In the end it was worth it to have kept going.

The book is a translation from a Hungarian, which might explain some of the awkwardness of the writing of the POV shifts, but I doubt it. There were history, future and present all going on at the same time, and with the POV shifts so it was fairly confusing. The main character, János Dragomán would be referred to in the third person, but sometimes in first person as the narrator. This shift would happen suddenly, and it took a while to figure out this was the same person being spoken about.

János Dragomán, an itinerant philosopher, professor and writer returns to Kandor to be awarded an honorary degree, and see his old friends. He is also a womanizer, which plays in the plot particularly in the later portion. The narration kept returning to 1956, when there was an attempt in Hungry to revolt against the Russian occupation. Dragomán was a student then and was active in this revolt.

In this present time Dragomán just discovers he has a daughter and grandson, which has him contemplating staying in Kandor. There is more, but I’d rather not reveal the entire plot.

A bit of a strange book, but glad I stuck with it. Most of the action was in the last quarter of the book, which was straightforward for the most part, unlike the prior portion of the book. I suppose this answers why there are so few reviews, I expect many would have given up as I nearly did.

Book rating: 3.5 stars


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