László Darvasi has become a leading writer of contemporary Hungarian prose today by essentially writing about the same thing from the start: the great themes of love, death, forgiveness, decay, sin, morality and perseverance return again and again in his novels, short stories, plays and other writings, and even in his distinctive, incomparable storybooks for children. His writer’s world – rich in melancholy emotions, laced with refined humour, sometimes flowing in classical style, sometimes full of twists like a detective story – continues to search for answers to the profoundly topical, fundamental questions of our existence, even as his incomparably rich literary imagination spirits the reader to other historical eras or imaginary locations. Since A veinhageni rózsabokrok (1993), Darvasi has established himself as one of the most important masters and innovators in the traditional short story form. Meanwhile, his major novels in the genre of magic realism (A könnymutatványosok legendája, 1999, and Virágzabálók, 2009) paint historical panoramas of Europe in the 16th–17th centuries and 19th century respectively, using Hungarian locations favoured by the author (Szeged and Buda). Wherever this extraordinarily prolific, popular and multifaceted writer guides the reader, each of his works is imbued with the cult of history, a boundless respect for the written word, and an unshakeable belief that, with the tools of literature, the world can be reinterpreted through finely woven, poetic prose. Few on our literary scene today are able to tell a story in this way. By way of confirmation, the gloriously talented Márton Juhász and his trio provide authentic musical accompaniment. Our visitors are kindly informed that this performance will be presented in Hungarian. Presented by: Palace of Arts

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