Short and Quick Reviews of selected books
Century in Scarlet
This book by Lajos Zilahy is surprisingly not as well known as it should be. It is an epic story in the tradition of the 19th century novel and recounts the story of Count Dukay, born in 1814 and whose life was intertwined with the Hungarian freedom struggle under the leadership of the legendary Kossuth. It gives a Hungarian view of the "century in scarlet"- the mid 19th century era when revolution haunted much of Europe. The novel reminded me of Flaubert's "A Sentimental Education" that gives a view of the same era in France. "Century in Scarlet" deserves the same recognition as Tolstoy's "War and Peace" or Mario Vargas Llosa's "The War of End of the World", though it does not match either one in terms of the scale of the canvas or the depth of the characters. That probably is the reason why it is not so highly regarded as the others.
Last Updated:- 3 May 2003
