| Title | : | The Flower Show and the Toth Family |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0811208370 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780811208376 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 176 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 1977 |
The Flower Show and the Toth Family Reviews
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Two novellas of about 80 pages each. I guess I’ve been bingeing on Hungarian authors lately. The author (1912-1979) is called in the blurbs a “master of the grotesque” and black comedy. He satirizes Hungary of the early 1940’s as a nationalistic, quasi-feudal, caste-ridden society that easily acquiesced to Nazi rule. He wrote Toth in 1967 and Flower Show in 1977, so maybe the implication is that the nation easily acquiesced also to communist rule. Although a Jew, he survived the War after being sent to a forced labor camp in the Soviet Union.
The introduction by the one of the two translators tells us that the author’s forte is to pinpoint the absurdities of modern life that we accept as normal.
The Flower Show (1977) is a very good story and very modern. It’s about a film director who sets out to interview three people who are dying but it ends up being about how reporting the new influences the news; in this case how the act of filming influenced the way they died and the attitudes of the people who died.
The Toth Family (1967) is a farce. The fire chief of a small town lives in a scenic mountain area where families rent out rooms to tourists. Their son in the army sends his commanding office to visit for a few weeks of R&R. Knowing how influential the officer can be over their son’s well-being, they turn their life upside down to accommodate the major. The major is crazy. He has them construct cardboard boxes for hours each day. It turns into a Marx Brothers comedy, funny at first but drags on way too long.
The Toth Family is good; I’ll give it a ‘4;’ the other is a weaker story, a “3.” So, all in all I rounded to 4.
Photo of the Matre Range in northern Hungary along the Slovakia border from worldatlas.com
Photo of the author from wikipedia -
I don't think I could have enjoyed the Toth Family any more. Not since Hogan's Heros have I had such fun watching someone take the piss out of military leadership. A short and stupid military man spends two weeks driving a family insane as a severely funny sequence of mishaps unravels like a well-written Hollywood plot. Poor poor Mr. Toth is like every father that wants some peace, love and probably a few beers and to otherwise be left-alone. This of course will not do for the major who demands constant modifications for those he does not see living up to their potential. The family, but mostly Mr. Toth is reduced to absurdities such as jumping imagination puddles, keeping a flashlight in his mouth to avoid snoring and eventually moving into to his outhouse to find peace. Orkeny reminds me a bit of Zoschenko at times as he wields a rapier like wit that reduces the overbearing to fine shreds - all the time revealing his dangerous anti-establishment message. Just as funny as tragic - the whole story unfolds over the backdrop of a son killed at war. Both the major and the Toth family are unaware of the boy's death and their pettiness is drawn in contrast to the horrible tragedy of a life lost too young. Can you draw a more powerful image of absurdity? Kharms too can hardly be avoided when considering such absurd declamations against oppression - and at times you might also be waiting for Toth to eat the entire tray of butter with one mouthful. Not many books make me laugh out loud - this one did many times - and at the same time reminded me of what the cost of war in Eastern Europe was for many Hungarians.
The Flower Show is humorous but nowhere near as uproarious, nor was it intended to be, as The Toth Family. Instead, The Flower Show is about a man filming people's last moments for a documentary. The media was a less fertile ground for mockery than the military in 1966 - and I can only imagine what Orkeny would have written in response to our current reality of imbedded reporters and equally hilarious dictators at least.
Both works mock - but they are never cynical or reactionary. Orkeny pleases with laughter and delivers his more serious messages with tact and grace. We need more writers like Orkeny - Hollywood especially. -
this was great. superior satire/absurdist writing from a central european standpoint. smart, funny, earthy. contains two novellas: "the flower show" is flat-out brilliant. a tv documentary that films the last moments of three different subjects. think kafka meets the polish director kieslowski. "the toth family" is equally impressive and more allegorical. think kafka meets chekhov. recommend without a hint of reservation.
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caótico, grotesco e absurdo. mas muito bom
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isso aqui é uma coisa espetacular. a morte é algo que me interessa faz algum tempo, principalmente em momentos de importante bebedeira. quando bêbado, a morte é simples, cotidiana. meses atrás pensei que fosse morrer de verdade, e toda vez que acordava sóbrio, imaginava que teria diagnóstico terrível e que iria morrer em curto período de tempo. felizmente não aconteceu. quando a senhora mikó se entusiasma, eufórica, vendo a exposição das rosas em um concurso internacional, não erra sequer o lugar de cada uma delas - esta, de região tal da frança, aquela, de tal lugar - e com uma reclamação impertinente acerca da má exibição por parte da tv.
estou triste em pensar que no momento da chegada da morte, o que nos dará a euforia do suporte ao sublime será algo cotidiano tão filho da puta quanto o TRABALHO. a senhora mikó, embaladora de rosas numa empresa produtora, teve seu ápice antes do suspiro final a partir de um pequeno trecho (5 minutos) exibido na televisão que estava diretamente ligada ao labor. espero morrer em paz, e paz não existe quando existe trabalho.
diretamente, ligada ao produto. -
This was great! Just read it on the beach in Croatia! Hungarian, dark humor, 2 ridiculous stories, one about a person making documentary film of people's death, the other about a family forced to put up their son's lunatic commanding officer. They must cater to his insane whims, such as making boxes all night every night or their son will be in the line of fire. The father finally takes refuge in the outhouse... Very nice.
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Kui jätta kõrvale see, et raamat ilmus suure trükiarvuga aastal 1983, kandes seega paratamatult nõuka-aegseid rõhuasetusi ja olles oma ajastu peegel, siis kummalisel Pikri-laadsel viisil on see valimik hästi tõlgitud ja kohati isegi turtsuma ajavt naljakas. Tothide painav vajadus teenindada ja meeldida (oma poja nimel, keele surmast nad pole veel teada saanud, sest postiljon jumaldab nende pereisa ja viskab seetõttu kõik halvad teated vihmaveetünni) viib groteskini; vanainimeste läheduseigatsus armukolmnurgani (kas ka grotesk? Või inimlik magusvalu?). Ei soovita, aga meeldis.
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About the Toth family: What a surprising little gem! There's the life of poor people in Hungary during war against Russia, there's unbridled humor and a very, I mean VERY shocking and satisfying end.
The Flower Show is more irregular, with a weak ending - and believe me this is ironic as there was a lot of build up for that , considering it's a story about a filmmaker that wants to record the death of three people. A page-turner and a quick read. Solid 4 stars. -
eu ri.
são duas histórias com pessoas que se comportam mal durante situações insustentáveis.
o humor vem do desconforto e do desespero alheio com o absurdo.
tentei contar o que era engraçado e não consegui, tem que ler mesmo.
leitura rápida e fluida.
recomendo para adultos amargos. -
Família Toth é 5 estrelas, A Exposição das Rosas é 4.
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Two great stories, but even beyond that, it was worth it for the final two pages.
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Two excellent Hungarian novellas, quite different in tone but not in quality.
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A short great story includes a vivid portrayal of a family's life and their struggles, also full of dark humor...
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"The Flower Show" was a highly enjoyable novel. Its brevity made it a quick read, while the content left nothing to be desired. The novel offered a fascinating perspective on a topic that appears in almost every piece of literature and every dime-store novel that has ever been published in any country ever. That's right, the novel focused heavily on death. There is a freshness in Örkény's perspective, however, in that he uses an aspiring filmmaker making a documentary about death as a device through which to delve into the topic. The documentary's characters have well-defined personalities considering how little time they actually are alive for the novel. They were all extremely relatable. However with Aron, the main character, I had a couple issues. I admire his drive, creativity, and innovative mind, but there were also instances where I was put off by his ability to completely separate death from the emotions that typically are associated with it. This may not be a problem with Aron, however, because the novel as a whole seeks an understanding of death without necessarily acknowledging the emotions surrounding it. This was a different approach to acknowledging death from what I have normally read. What is most interesting to me about this book is how applicable it is to the human experience in general. This is especially interesting considering that I read the book for my Contemporary Fiction from Eastern Europe class. Nothing about the novel struck me as particularly European, but it appeared on the syllabus nonetheless. That is a question I will have to investigate further!
"The Toth Family" is a work that I found both entertaining and frustrating. The characters are comical in their actions, reactions, comments, flaws, etc. And yet at the same time the funny moments frustrated me because they were blithely impractical. Honestly, who is ever going to believe that someone clearly enunciates "Honorable major, it is a quarter to one." and the recipient of the statement hears "Go screw your sweet old grandmother in the ears."? That is the way the comedy of this novella unfolds, and for what it is worth it is funny, but it makes absolutely no sense. For me, humor is best when it is realistic. Of course, a bit of exaggerated slapstick comedy is hilarious, but this novel carries the exaggeration to the extreme. The result is a cast of characters who are completely unrealistic, and a set of societal standards of behavior that are completely unpredictable and even downright ludicrous. It is a good book to read for a nice laugh, but if you are looking for real-world relevance you will be disappointed. I am also frustrated that the reader is aware of issues that the characters are not, such as the fact that the postman is throwing away the letters he feels are not in the Toths' best interest. There is no resolution whatsoever to this conflict; none of the characters ever knew about the news that was being hidden from them, and so why was it even brought up to begin with? It brought absolutely nothing to the reading, and just added to my frustration. Finally, the contradictions that drive the novel made no sense whatsoever. At one point, when the psychiatrist suggests Toth bends his knees so that he will not be so much taller than Major Varro, the major approves of the change because it makes Toth seem a whole head taller than usual! Contradictions are an awesome way to drive a book, but only when they are in the form of juxtapositions that enhance the meaning through analytical tricks. I felt as if this book threw in some contradictions for the sake of humor, and in this case they contributed nothing to the meaning of the text and ultimately fell flat as literary devices. If anything they made it more confusing. It is possible that I approached the novella with too realistic of a mindset, but I still do not see it as being good for anything but a cheap laugh. -
This author predicted reality TV to the extreme: trying to "direct" someone who is dying. Also, a family tries to take care of their son's insane military commander in hopes he'll take care of their son... not realizing that sadly there is actually no point. One of these stories was made into an Hungarian movie decades ago... it could easily be made into a dark comedy today.
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The Toth Family is a sheer representation of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
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A grotesque and absurd play, remarkably humorous and comical at times. Behind the burlesque milieu, however, a profound study of authoritarian and totalitarian ideologies, and of authority and power in general comes to light in, turning Örkény's masterpiece into a serious essay about society and human nature in the 20th century.
