Short stories
Szindbád ifjúsága
Not translated into English
Gyula Krúdy · 1911
Synopsis
Stories centred on Szindbád, a man who bears the name of the sailor of the Thousand and One Nights and travels less in space than in time: he returns to the towns, inns and women of his youth, of which only memory remains, and seeks his loves of long ago between dream and reality. The stories, without a continuous plot, follow one another like variations on a single feeling, tender, ironic and melancholic.
Context
The collection appeared in 1911 from the publishing house of the journal Nyugat and brought its author renown; he kept the character alive until his own death in 1933, in dozens of stories. His journeys take place across the years, his memory serving him as a ship. In the Nyugat, István Várady hailed a very beautiful book, made of a single voice, pure, simple and melancholy. In 1940, Sándor Márai made the author, under the name Szindbád, the hero of a tale of his last days.
Who it is for
Short tales without a continuous plot, in musical prose; translated into French, with a few previously unpublished pieces, under the title Sindbad ou la Nostalgie.
Prizes and reception
The book that made its author known throughout the country; its character inspired Zoltán Huszárik to make a film in 1971.