''Fateless'' or ''Fatelessness'' ( hu, Sorstalanság, ) is a novel by

Imre Kertész Imre Kertész (; 9 November 192931 March 2016) was a Hungarian author and recipient of the 2002 Nobel Prize in Literature, "for writing that upholds the fragile experience of the individual against the barbaric arbitrariness of history". He was ...

, winner of the 2002

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

for literature, written between 1960 and 1973 and first published in 1975. The novel is a semi-autobiographical story about a 14-year-old Hungarian

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...

's experiences in the

Auschwitz Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...

and

Buchenwald Buchenwald (; literally 'beech forest') was a Nazi concentration camp established on hill near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within Germany's 1937 borders. Many actual or su ...

concentration camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...

s. The book is the first part of a trilogy, which continues in ''A kudarc'' ("Fiasco" ) and ''

Kaddis a meg nem született gyermekért ''Kaddish for an Unborn Child'' ( hu, Kaddis a meg nem született gyermekért) is a novel by Imre Kertész, first published in 1990 (). The novel deals with the struggles of a Holocaust survivor after the war, explaining to a friend why he cannot ...

'' ("Kaddish for an Unborn Child" ). Kertész won the

Nobel Prize for Literature ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , caption = , awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature , presenter = Swedish Academy , holder = Annie Ernaux (2022) , location = Stockholm, Sweden , year = 1901 , ...

in 2002, "for writing that upholds the fragile experience of the individual against the barbaric arbitrariness of history". The book was first translated into

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

by Christopher C. Wilson and Katharina M. Wilson in 1992 as ''Fateless'' ( and ), while in 2004 a second translation by

Tim Wilkinson Timothy David Wilkinson (born 26 July 1978) is a professional golfer from New Zealand. Biography Wilkinson was born in Palmerston North, and was educated at St Peter's College. He won the New Zealand Stroke Play Championship in 2000 and tur ...

appeared () under the title ''Fatelessness''. In the UK edition, Wilkinson's translation retained the title ''Fatelessness'' ().

Plot summary

The novel is about a young Hungarian boy, György "Gyuri" Köves, living in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

. The book opens as György's father is being sent to a labor camp. Soon afterwards, György receives working papers and travels to work outside of the Jewish quarter. One day all of the Jews are pulled off of the buses leaving the Jewish quarter, and are sent to

on a train without water. Arriving there, György lies about his age, unknowingly saving his own life, and tells us of camp life and the conditions he faces. Eventually he is sent to

, and continues on describing his life in a concentration camp, before being finally sent to another camp in

Zeitz Zeitz ( hsb, Žič) is a town in the Burgenlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the river White Elster, in the triangle of the federal states Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia and Saxony. History Zeitz was first recorded und ...

. György falls ill and nears death, but remains alive and is eventually sent to a hospital facility in a concentration camp until the war ends. Returning to

, he is confronted with those who were not sent to camps and had just recently begun to hear of the terrible injustice and suffering.

Analysis

A parallel can be drawn between ''Fatelessness'' and

Franz Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It ...

's ''

The Trial ''The Trial'' (german: Der Process, link=no, previously , and ) is a novel written by Franz Kafka in 1914 and 1915 and published posthumously on 26 April 1925. One of his best known works, it tells the story of Josef K., a man arrested and pr ...

''. Both novels portray the descent of an innocent protagonist into the madness of a system in which he is caught and György's rationalizations for the events that occur around him bear a resemblance to the eventual acceptance by ''The Trial'' protagonist Josef K. of his own fate.

Movie

A movie version, with screenplay by

, was released in 2005, made in Hungary by director Lajos Koltai, with Marcell Nagy in the starring role. It also features British actor

Daniel Craig Daniel Wroughton Craig (born 2 March 1968) is an English-American actor who gained international fame playing the secret agent James Bond in the film series, beginning with '' Casino Royale'' (2006) and in four further instalments, up to '' ...

, who plays a cameo as an American Army Sergeant.

References

1975 novels Hungarian novels Autobiographical novels Novels about the Holocaust Personal accounts of the Holocaust Hungarian novels adapted into films Novels set in Budapest Magvető books {{1970s-autobio-novel-stub