Novel
Saulus
Not translated into English
Miklós Mészöly · 1968
Synopsis
Saulus, charged by his people with hunting down the followers of a preacher who has just been tried, sets out in search of two suspects, in the company of other travellers. He has heard part of the preacher's trial and witnessed, without taking part, the stoning of one of his disciples. He carries out his task, but feels within him an emptiness that nothing fills, and each encounter shakes a little more the certainty that drove him to act, as the road leads him towards Damascus.
Context
The novel appeared in 1968 from Magvető. It does not follow the apostle but the man before, and does not depict the expected illumination, which critics at first held against it, Sándor Radnóti speaking of a “failed apotheosis”. Its lyrical, spare language, its suspended time and its almost motionless scenes disconcerted the first readers, and the book was not fully reassessed until the 1990s. It appeared in French as early as 1971, from Seuil.
Who it is for
A short novel, of about one hundred and sixty pages, in a spare language with multiple meanings; translated into French.
Prizes and reception
Now regarded as one of its author's great books, after an initially bewildered reception.
Sources for this page 3
The pages consulted to check this page.