"Kétfelől angyal: Új novellák" by Ernő Szép is a collection of short stories written during the early 20th century. The stories explore various snapshots of Hungarian urban and rural life, blending irony, humor, gentle melancholy, and acute social observation. Characters such as intellectuals, working-class women, and minor aristocrats populate the narratives, each revealing the nuanced emotional landscape of everyday experiences. The opening of the collection introduces several vignettes, beginning with a playful
and surreal scene of young lovers on Margitsziget interrupted by a strange, theatrical outsider who laments his lack of happiness. The ensuing stories shift perspective: a narrator recalls encounters with the wealthy and powerful, ruminates on social ambitions and disappointments, and reflects on small personal victories and embarrassments. Later pieces examine intimate moments, such as the nuanced exchange between a man and a manicurist, or the bittersweet account of a disabled bank clerk during wartime Budapest, who feels deeply alienated from both heroism and compassion. Each segment deftly captures mood, character, and setting, signaling that the book will be a sensitive, ironic, and evocative portrayal of early 20th-century Hungarian life through diverse, often marginal perspectives. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
Harmadik személy -- Összeköttetések -- Dicsőség -- Györgyi, később Kamilla -- Emlék -- A sánta fiatal ember naplója -- Első föllépésem -- Szabócska -- Jancsi -- Szemlész ur -- Kétfelől angyal -- Két kezdő bohóc -- Bözsi kisasszony -- Fascination -- A dedósné -- A Szakáll gyerek -- Büszke Biki -- Fred -- Mozart mama -- Nyolcéves kis leány.
Credits
Albert László from page images generously made available by the Hungarian Electronic Library
Reading Level
Reading ease score: 66.6 (8th & 9th grade). Neither easy nor difficult to read.
