Peter Nadas

Parallel Stories

Translated by Imre Goldstein

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It takes bravery to read this thousand-page novel—not only is it epically long, but both its form and subject matter are difficult. In Parallel Lives, translated from Hungarian, Nadas explores the legacy of the Holocaust in Hungary and Germany. Employing polyphonic voice, unsettling shifts in point of view, and scenes stretched to almost unimaginable lengths, he captures distortions in post-World War II society. The novel is at times both deeply painful and perverse but always masterfully orchestrated.