Tibor Fischer (born 15 November 1959) is a British

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

ist and short story writer. In 1993, he was selected by the literary magazine Granta as one of the 20 best young British writers while his novel '' Under the Frog'' was featured on the

Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly known as the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a Literary award, literary prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United King ...

shortlist.

Early life

Fischer's parents were Hungarian basketball players, who fled Hungary in 1956; first his father, György Fischer, and then his mother, the captain of the women's national basketball team. Tibor's father studied economics at Manchester University, started work in the Hungarian section of the BBC taking the name "George Fischer," and ended up as Radio Four's head of talks and documentaries.Who's A Clever Boy Then - Interview with Tibor Fischer
by Lisa Gee, '' The Independent'', 23 March 1997 Tibor Fischer was born in

Stockport Stockport is a town and borough in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt and Tame merge to create the River Mersey here. Most of the town is within ...

, England and grew up in

Bromley, Kent Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, char ...

, where he attended the local

comprehensive school A comprehensive school typically describes a secondary school for pupils aged approximately 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is res ...

. He studied Latin and

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

Peterhouse, Cambridge Peterhouse is the oldest constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Today, Peterhouse has 254 undergraduates, 116 full-time graduate students and 54 fellows. It is quite ...

Author

The

1956 revolution The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 10 November 1956; hu, 1956-os forradalom), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was a countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the Hunga ...

, and his father's background, informed Fischer's debut novel '' Under the Frog'', about a Hungarian basketball team in the first years of Communism in Hungary. The title is derived from a Hungarian saying, that the worst possible place to be is "under a frog's arse down a coal mine."Hay Budapest: Tibor Fischer just delighted to be himself
by Martin Chilton, '' The Daily Telegraph'', 5 May 2012 In 1992, the novel won a

Betty Trask Prize The Betty Trask Prize and Awards are for first novels written by authors under the age of 35, who reside in a current or former Commonwealth nation. Each year the awards total £20,000, with one author receiving a larger prize amount, called the ...

for literature, and was the first debut novel to be shortlisted for the

Booker prize The Booker Prize, formerly known as the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a Literary award, literary prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United King ...

.Tibor Firscher
British Council - Literature Fischer's subsequent novels include ''

The Thought Gang ''The Thought Gang'' is the second novel by English author Tibor Fischer, published in 1994. According to the ''Bloomsbury Good Reading Guide'' (2003), it was 'one of the funniest and most imaginative novels of the last twenty years'. Plot intr ...

'', about a delinquent and alcoholic philosophy professor who hooks up with a failed one-armed bandit in France to form a successful team of

bank robber Bank robbery is the criminal act of stealing from a bank, specifically while bank employees and customers are subjected to force, violence, or a threat of violence. This refers to robbery of a bank Branch (banking), branch or Bank teller, tell ...

s, and ''

The Collector Collector ''The Collector Collector'' is the third novel by British author Tibor Fischer first published in 1997, by Secker and Warburg in the UK and Henry Holt in the US. It has also been published in Canada and Germany (as ''Die Voyeurin''). Mixed revie ...

'', about a weekend in

South London South London is the southern part of London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, London Borou ...

, narrated by a 5000-year-old

Sumer Sumer () is the earliest known civilization in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia (south-central Iraq), emerging during the Chalcolithic and early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC. It is one of the cradles of c ...

ian pot. ''

Voyage to the End of the Room {{italic title ''Voyage to the End of the Room'' is a 2003 novel by British author Tibor Fischer, about a wealthy woman who never leaves her apartment. Plot The central character Oceane is a former dancer who worked in Barcelona's sex industry, b ...

'' was published in 2003, and concerned an agoraphobic ex-dancer. ''Good to be God'' was published by Alma Books on 4 September 2008. In it a broke, unemployed, "habitual failure" uses his friend's credit card to start a new life in Florida where he decides that the fastest way to make a fortune would be to start a religion. Fischer, in 2000, published a short story collection entitled ''Don't Read This Book If You're Stupid'', published in the U.S. as ''I Like Being Killed: Stories''.

Academia

In 2009, Fischer became the

Royal Literary Fund The Royal Literary Fund (RLF) is a benevolent fund that gives assistance to published British writers in financial difficulties. Founded in 1790, and granted a royal charter in 1818, the Fund has helped an extensive roll of authors through its long ...

writing fellow at

City and Guilds of London Art School Founded in 1854 as the Lambeth School of Art, the City and Guilds of London Art School is a small specialist art college located in central London, England. Originally founded as a government art school, it is now an independent, not-for-profit ...

.Fellow at City & Guilds of London School of Art, 2009/10
Royal Literary Fund,

Politics

In April 2017, Fischer wrote an opinion piece in '' The Guardian'' where he defended Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán's government against charges of authoritarianism and

antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

.I don’t recognise Viktor Orbán as a ‘tyrant’
by Tibor Fischer, '' The Guardian'', 20 April 2017 In the same context, he rejected notions of the government going after the George Soros funded Central European University, arguing that the relevant and controversial amendment to the law on higher education affects some 28 foreign institutions, 27 of which were found to be operating with "irregularities" ("largely sloppy paperwork, something that will come as no surprise to anyone familiar with university admin") and that none has been fined or shut down. Fischer posits that the CEU "is not being singled out for punishment" but "asking to be given privileged treatment." In response to it, the newspaper received letters from CEU president Michael Ignatieff,

Brian J. Dooley Brian J. Dooley (born 1963) is an Irish human rights activist and author. He is Senior Advisor at Washington DC-based NGO Human Rights First. In October 2023 he was made an Honorary Professor of Practice at the Mitchell Institute, Queen's Univer ...

, of Human Rights First, and others, who expressed their opposition to Fischer's views,Democracy and academic freedom in Viktor Orbán’s Hungary
, Letters, ''The Guardian'', 23 April 2017 arguing that the amendment requires the operation of a campus in CEU's country of origin, something that "would effectively make it impossible for CEU to operate in Hungary," and denying that the university has sought "special privileges."

Works

Novels

*'' Under the Frog'' (1992) *''

'' (1994) *''

'' (1997) *''

'' (2003) *''Good to be God'' (2008) *''The Hungarian Tiger'' (2014) *''How to Rule the World'' (2018)

Collections

*''Don't Read This Book If You're Stupid'' (2000) (US title: ''I Like Being Killed'') *''Crushed Mexican Spiders'' (2011)

References

External links

Tibor Fischer
at the '' complete review''
Interview of Tibor Fischer
at the ''identitytheory'' literary website, 2004 {{DEFAULTSORT:Fischer, Tibor 1959 births 20th-century English male writers 20th-century British short story writers 20th-century English novelists 21st-century English male writers 21st-century British short story writers 21st-century English novelists Alumni of Peterhouse, Cambridge English male novelists English male short story writers English people of Hungarian descent English short story writers Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature International Writing Program alumni Living people People from Stockport British social commentators