''Baron Wenckheim's Homecoming'' ( hu, Báró Wenckheim hazatér) is a 2016 novel by

László Krasznahorkai László Krasznahorkai (; born 5 January 1954) is a Hungarian novelist and screenwriter known for difficult and demanding novels, often labeled postmodern, with dystopian and melancholic themes. Several of his works, including his novels '' ...

. Originally published in Hungarian by

Magvető Magvető is a Hungarian book publishing company based in Budapest. It primarily publishes domestic and international works of literary fiction. History Magvető was established in 1955 as a publisher of the Magyar Írók Szövetsége (now the ...

, it was later translated to English by

Ottilie Mulzet Ottilie Mulzet (born July, 1960 in Toronto) is a literary translator of Hungarian poetry and prose whose work has been recognized with several major literary awards. She is known in particular for her translations of several books by László Kra ...

and published in 2019 by

New Directions Publishing New Directions Publishing Corp. is an independent book publishing company that was founded in 1936 by James Laughlin and incorporated in 1964. Its offices are located at 80 Eighth Avenue in New York City. History New Directions was born in 193 ...

. The novel employs an experimental structure, with pages-long sentences and unbroken paragraphs. Mulzet's translation won the 2019

National Book Award for Translated Literature The National Book Award for Translated Literature is one of five annual National Book Awards recognising outstanding literary works of translation into English administered by the National Book Foundation. This award was previously given from 1967 ...

. The novel also won the 2017 Aegon Prize.

Plot

Baron Béla Wenckheim, a 64-year-old Hungarian man, returns to his hometown after collecting a large gambling debt in

Buenos Aires, Argentina Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

, where he was living in exile. He hopes to reunite with his childhood sweetheart Marika. However, upon hearing of his coming arrival the townspeople believe Baron Wenckheim possesses great wealth which he will bequeath to the town.

Background

In an interview with ''

Asymptote In analytic geometry, an asymptote () of a curve is a line such that the distance between the curve and the line approaches zero as one or both of the ''x'' or ''y'' coordinates tends to infinity. In projective geometry and related contexts, ...

'', Krasznahorkai described the novel as a "

cadenza In music, a cadenza (from it, cadenza, link=no , meaning cadence; plural, ''cadenze'' ) is, generically, an improvisation, improvised or written-out ornament (music), ornamental passage (music), passage played or sung by a solo (music), sol ...

" for his previous novels. In an interview with ''

The Paris Review ''The Paris Review'' is a quarterly English-language literary magazine established in Paris in 1953 by Harold L. Humes, Peter Matthiessen, and George Plimpton. In its first five years, ''The Paris Review'' published works by Jack Kerouac, Philip ...

'', Krasznahorkai explained: As with ''

Sátántangó ''Sátántangó'' (; meaning 'Satan's Tango') is a 1994 Drama (film and television), drama film directed by Cinema of Hungary, Hungarian filmmaker Béla Tarr. Shot in black-and-white and running for more than seven hours, it is based on the 1985 ...

'', ''

The Melancholy of Resistance ''The Melancholy of Resistance'' ( hu, Az ellenállás melankóliája) is a 1989 novel by the Hungarian writer László Krasznahorkai. The narrative is set in a restless town where a mysterious circus, which exhibits a whale and nothing else, cont ...

'', and ''

War and War ''War and War'' () is a 1999 novel by the Hungarian writer László Krasznahorkai. It tells the story of a Hungarian man who is obsessed with a mysterious manuscript, which he decides to travel to New York City to write down and post on the Interne ...

'', ''Baron Wenckheim's Homecoming'' features a small Hungarian town which mirrors Krasznahorkai's hometown Gyula.

Style

The novel employs an experimental structure, with pages-long sentences and unbroken paragraphs.

Publication

The novel was published in Hungarian by

in September 2016. It was translated into English by

and published on 24 September 2019 by

Reception

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

'' gave the novel a rave review, comparing it to Krasznahorkai's ''

'' and writing, "This vortex of a novel compares neatly with

Dostoevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (, ; rus, Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский, Fyódor Mikháylovich Dostoyévskiy, p=ˈfʲɵdər mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ dəstɐˈjefskʲɪj, a=ru-Dostoevsky.ogg, links=yes; 11 November 18219 ...

and shows Krasznahorkai at the absolute summit of his decades-long project." ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

'' gave the novel a positive review, writing, "A challenge for readers unused to endless sentences and unbroken paragraphs but worth the slog for its wealth of ideas." Writing for ''

'', Dustin Illingworth praised the novel, writing, "''Baron Wenkcheim's Homecoming'' is a fitting capstone to Krasznahorkai's tetralogy, one of the supreme achievements of contemporary literature. Now seems as good a time as any to name him among our greatest living novelists." Andrew Singer of Trafika Europe, published in ''

World Literature Today ''World Literature Today'' is an American magazine of international literature and culture, published at the University of Oklahoma. The stated goal of the magazine is to publish international essays, poetry, fiction, interviews, and book review ...

'', gave the novel a mixed review, criticizing its prose structure and concluding, "there are even startlingly wise lessons hiding in this work—yet the overall execution feels lazy, like a draft."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baron Wenckheim's Homecoming 2016 novels Hungarian novels Works by László Krasznahorkai Novels set in Hungary Postmodern novels National Book Award for Translated Literature winning works 2016 in Hungary Magvető books