- my perspective universal." Both his first novel, Fatelessness (the previous English translation was Fateless) and Kaddish for an Unborn Child (previously Kaddish for a Child Not Born) — are available in Vintage paperback editions, in new transla- tions. In addition, Knopf published a hardcover edition of another Kertesz novel, Liquidation. Never before available in English, it is the story of a novelist who survives Auschwitz and Buchenwald and Hungary's Communist regime, only to kill himself a decade after the fall of communism. The death causes the man's circle of friends to examine their own history and memories. All three books are translated by Tim Wilkinson. Kertesz finds Wilkinson's translations to be excel- lent. Looking back on his own experi- ence as a literary translator, Kertesz said,"It's not enough to translate ver- batim. You have to be very knowledge- able of the mother tongue into which you are translating. "You have to understand the tune and the tone. Those are the most important. Any other mistakes can be corrected. When you have a master pianist playing, he might make one mistake, but it doesn't invalidate the final effect:' Pieces Of Music The Hungarian writer, who has also Imre Kertesz receives his Nobel Prize from the King of Sweden at the Stockholm Concert Hall. worked as a librettist to support his writing of novels, frequently makes musical references. (As an aside, he notes that he doesn't see his librettos as having literary value — he would have worked as a lumberjack if he was "strong enough and had the audacity to do it.") He looks at his novels as pieces of music, and it's not only the musicality of the sentences that interests him, but the structure. For Wilkinson, who has been trans- lating from Hungarian to English for more than 30 years, what's particular- ly distinctive about Kertesz's writing is that "although it is an attribute shared with all truly goOd writers ... Kertesz is able to conjure up what he wants to write about with just a few deftly chosen worlds." The London-based Wilkinson said that in translating Kertesz, there's an advantage to having a familiarity with the totality of his writing, as there are many allusions to works by such other writers as Nietzsche, Rilke, Kafka, Camus "that are not flagged at all but for which clues are to be found. Sorting these out is hard work but ultimately hugely rewarding because it gives a real sense of the tradition of great writing into which Kertesz fite A reader encountering Kertesz for the first time would do well to begin with Fatelessness, first published in 1975 and now a feature film by award- winning Hungarian cinematographer Lajos Koltai. The book is a narrative of a young man being sent to and surviv- ing a concentration camp; the voice of the child is unforgettable, reporting with innocence and without judgment on what he sees. Kertesz worked on that novel for about 13 years, and then it took sever- al years to find a publisher. He laughs when he says that 30 years after work- ing for so many years on the book, he spent eight weeks writing the screen- play. Kaddish for a Child Not Born, pub- lished in Hungarian in 1990, is the meditation of a man who chooses not to bring a child into a world that could produce Auschwitz and Buchenwald. When told that a friend in Budapest expressed her hope that Kertesz's books would now be required reading in all Hungarian schools, the Nobel laureate smiles and said that he'd never want to be mandatory: "If anything, I'd want to be discov- ered as the book students are reading in secret during class, hidden under the table." LJ • Catering available at all locations • Coupons are for all locations including Hercules Family Restaurant at 12 Mile & Farmington Visit us at www.leosconeyisland•com Receive $100 Off Total Bill Over $10 Not valid with Specials. Not valid with any other offers. With coupon. Expires 03/31/06 Receive $200 off 10'0ff Receive Total Bill Total Bill Over $20 Not valid with Specials. Not valid with any other offers. With coupon. Expires 03/31/06 Not valid with Specials. Not valid with any other offers. With coupon. Expires 03/31/06 Receive 10'Off Total Food Bill Dine-in only. Not valid with Specials. Not valid with any other offers. With coupon. Expires 03/31/06 I IVATE DINING ROOM 010004b.41, 4420.0/4,1 FULL BAR r), C- -t-e 1 -1_.f FULL SERVICE CATERING flim401 r LOO 15 , 411Kiir',001NdeNdllw 491 /4,411PNdirNillr`morancl , 4111PK41NolliNgeNsier;.' INTeRIOR5 FAMILY ROHM AHD OPERATED FOR 00E1. 1 30 ?MIS „, j i Mai it WOOD FLOORS Expertly Installed Quality Refinishing mi Exotic Species Extensive Selection of: Carpet • Area Rugs Marble • Ceramic Laminate • Vinyl 302t Orchard Lake Rd. Keego Harbor 248'681 - 6460 iN March 9 • 2006 41