Frigyes Karinthy

Grave and Gay: Selections from His Work



CONTENTS
   
I  THE GRAVER SIDE OF LIFE  
   
1  MAN AND WOMAN  
     Between the Lines of Verse (Két verssor között) Translated by László András T. 11
     A Good Joke (Jó vicc) Translated by Rudolf Fischer 15
     Guilt (Bűn) Translated by Rudolf Fischer   20
     Make-Up (Festék) Translated by István Farkas 27
     Days (Napok) Translated by Rudolf Fischer 31
   

2  WAR AND PEACE

  
     Barabbas (Barabbás) Translated by István Farkas 37
     The Skirmish (Az ütközet) Translated by Rudolf Fischer 41
     Prologue (Prológus) Translated by László András T. 48
     The House on Fire (Az égő ház) Translated by László András T. 54
   
3 EGO AND LITTLE EGO  
     Ego and Little Ego (Én és énke) Translated by István Farkas 61
     The Nightmare (Az álom) Translated by István Farkas 68
     Thirst (Szomjúság) Translated by István Farkas 70
     The New Life (Az új élet) Translated by István Farkas 78
   
4 MAN AND HIS WORLD  
     Meeting with a Young Man (Találkozás egy fiatalemberrel) Translated by István Farkas 89
     Abdominal Operation (Hasműtét) Translated by István Farkas 95
     Blind Chick (Vak csibe) Translated by Rudolf Fischer 104
     The Circus (A cirkusz) Translated by György Welsburg 109
     Genius (Géniusz) Translated by István Farkas 116
     Loneliness (A magány) Translated by Mari Kuttna 122
     Two Ships (Két hajó) Translated by Mari Kuttna 129
   
II THE LIGHTER SIDE OF LIFE  
   
1 MAN AND WOMAN  
     The Echo (Ugyanaz férfiben) Translated by László András T. 147

     Your Husband (A te férjed) Translated by Rudolf Fischer

 153
     The Stranger (Az idegen) Translated by László András T. 157
     I’ve a Feeling... (Nem tudom, de nekem a feleségem gyanús ... ) Translated by István Farkas 161
     A Fixed Faithfulness (A megrögzített hűség) Translated by Rudolf Fischer 165
     Encounter (Találkozás) Translated by László András T. 168
     The Beauty of the Body (Testi szépség) Translated by László András T. 171
   
2 WAR AND PEACE  
     A Letter to His Excellency (Levél a tisztelt fódiplomata úrhoz) Translated by Mari Kuttna 175
     The Ideal Hell (Azideális pokol) Translated by Mari Kuttna 177
     The Mars and District Post (Mars és vidéke) Translated by Mari Kuttna 181
   
3 EGO AND LITTLE EGO  
     Aunt Euphemia, Freddy and the Marquis (Stanci néni, Frédi és a márki) Translated by Elisabeth Hoch 185
     Two Games (Két játék) Translated by Rudolf Fischer 190
     At the Psychiatrist’s (Az idegorvosnál) Translated by László András T. 193
     Light Conversation (Könnyed társalgás) Translated by László András T. 195
     Mrs. Buxbaum the Tree (Buxbaumné, a fa) Translated by László András T. 198
     The Tortoise (Teknősbéka, vagy ki az őrült a csárdában) Translated by Rudolf Fischer 201
   
4 MAN AND HIS WORLD  
     A New Life (Új élet) Translated by Rudolf Fischer 215
     He Was an Ordinary Newsboy (Mint egyszerű rikkancs kezdte) Translated by Mari Kuttna 218
     I Am Fond of Animals (Szeretem az állatot) Translated by István Farkas 221
     The Policeman (Rendőr) Translated by Mari Kuttna 224
     Scholarship Gets Its Own Back (A bosszús tudomány) Translated by Rudolf Fischer 226
     Conversation with a Decent Man (Beszélgetés egy jó emberrel) Translated by István Farkas 229
     A Farewell to Melons and Readers (Búcsú a dinnyétől és az olvasótól) Translated by István Farkas 233
   
About the Author by Károly Szalay 239

[Inside front jacket:]

Frigyes Karinthy (1887-1938) was one of the most versatile and exciting figures of twentieth-century Hungarian literature. In the course of his intellectual adventures he conquered an unparalleled variety of literary genres—humorous sketches, satires, short stories, novels, literary parodies as well as poems, dramas, cabaret sketches and essays. His prose in the first decade of this century places him among the earliest literary representatives of in-depth psychological analysis, while another side of his writing reveals him as a precursor of absurd humor.

The alternate use of the tragic and humorous approach is characteristic of his literary attitude; indeed the same theme is often treated from both angles. The concept of the present selection is based on this very duality in Karinthy. His principal themes are the man-woman relationship, the conflict between the conscious and subconscious self, all of which are present in this volume in dramatic and humorous, tragic and grotesque interpretations alike.

SOURCE: Karinthy, Frigyes. Grave and Gay: Selections from His Work, selected by István Kerékgyárto, afterword by Károly Szalay, binding and jacket by István Bányai. 2nd ed. Budapest: Corvina Press, 1973. Contents, pp. 5-7. ISBN 963 13 0907 X

Frigyes & Ferenc Karinthy in English

Frigyes (Frederiko) Karinthy (1887-1938) en Esperanto

Futurology, Science Fiction, Utopia, and Alienation
in the Work of Imre Madách, György Lukács, and Other Hungarian Writers:
Select Bibliography

Sándor Szathmári (1897-1974): Bibliografio & Retgvidilo / Bibliography & Web Guide

Esperanto & Interlinguistics Study Guide / Retgvidilo pri Esperanto & Interlingvistiko

Alireteje: Offsite:

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