A h: Universal Perspective ; O. co u pon. Expi res , •■•■ For Nobel-winning writer, identity as a Jew was imposed, not chosen. AGNES BOHM Jewish Telegraphic Agency la ends e selection identified him as a Holocaust survivor, without mentioning that he is Jewish. Kertesz said being Jewish is not something he chose, but something that was "forced" on him. "It doesn't mean that I don't have Jewish solidarity," he said. Recently criticized in Hungary for writing a pro-Israel article after attend- ing a conference for Holocaust sur- vivors in Jerusalem, Kertesz classified several types of Jews. e is the first Hungarian writer to win the Nobel Prize for Literature, but — as a Jew and a Holocaust survivor — Imre Kertesz feels his writ- ing reflects a more universal perspec- tive. The author, whose prize was announced Oct. 10, calls himself "a Jew who writes in Hungarian about the Holocaust and dictatorships." On Oct. 17, Mayor Gabor Demszky of Budapest made Kertesz an honorary citizen of the city. The event was held at city hall, where the 72-year-old author once worked as a journalist. And it was from Budapest that Kertesz was deported to Auschwitz. From there, he was sent to Buchenwald, where he Imre Kertesz, right, and his wife in Budapest was liberated in 1945. "I understood Auschwitz really and deeply only during the "The Israeli Jew is part of a nation, Hungarian Communist era, when I the Orthodox Jew belongs to an comprehended how people behave in a ancient and mystical religion, and there machinery like that," said Kertesz, also is the Jew who doesn't like to be a whose works are especially popular in Jew and to be identified that way, and Germany. tries to assimilate into the surrounding Fateless, Kertesz's first novel, is one of society," he said. only two among his many works to be "I belong to the type of Jew who translated into English. An autobio- understood his Jewishness only after graphical account of his experiences Auschwitz, who lacks Jewish culture during the Holocaust, it was published and the Hebrew language. I am afraid in the United States in 1992, 17 years that this type may disappear." after it appeared in Hungary. , Though the intensity of anti- Dissatisfied with the quality of the Semitism today doesn't rival that of the English translation, Kertesz hopes the Nazi era, Kertesz sees hatred of Jews on book will be retranslated, as was the the rise again in Europe. case with the German edition. "The right-wing populist political The other Kertesz novel translated parties have gained popularity with into English, Kaddish for a Child Not their xenophobia and opposition to Born, is a condemnation of a world immigration," he said. "Again the Jews that permitted the Holocaust. are blamed, as if they caused all the problems." Kertesz, who is occasionally corn- pared to Primo Levi or Elie Wiesel, 'Anti-Semitism is not a problem only does not want to be pigeonholed as a for the Jews, but for all of Europe," he Holocaust writer. continued. "Unfortunately, in Hungary "I hope that this prize didn't go only the Holocaust has not yet been digest- to the subject [of the Holocaust], for I ed, neither by Jews nor by the nation. I write about the dictatorships of the do hope that this will come however, 20th century in a wider sense," he said. and maybe this Nobel Prize will con- Initial news stories after Kertesz's tribute to that." ❑ r L 2 tr 3092) Woodward Ave. • Ko.9alOak, MI +8073 (2+8) 288-0002 Open: Mon — Thur. 1 l am -1 op. • Fri. 1 I am- 1 1 pm Sat. I 2pm-1 1 pm • Sun. 1 2-10pm Lunch served `tit 3pm Mon-$ri I 3 mile & Woodward in The Northwood Shopping Center v‘ ONG H ti4 FINE CHINESE DINING Nuitos, 9ijatv Zo/ wonderful adventure in fine dining" — Danny Raskin I Featuring Gourmet Oriental Cuisine Excellent Lunch and Dinner Selections Complete Menu Carryout 7 Days a Week 11 a.m.- • Midnight Gift Certificates • Available We Cater To Private Parties 27925 Orchard Lake Road, north of 12 Mile • Farmington Hills 248.489.2280 o ,7,291&:D PEAEODY5 t z4..z to4h, wa A Birmingham Tradition For 5 Years Entertainment Friday & Saturday Nights r One Lunch Or 1 One Dinner Entree I I I 71vo Hours Free Parking In The Structure Directly Behind Peabody's % 1 OFF When You Buy A Lunch Or Dinner Of Equal Or Greater Value Valid Mon.-Thurs. • With Coupon • Expires November 30, 2002 . 1 a 248.644.5222 34965 Woodward ♦ Just South Of Maple Reservations taken for S or more 631600 2002 81