András Maros
LEMONADE
Novel (Ulpius-ház), 2008, 412 pages
„»Any worthy symphony orchestra should have a sun umbrella!« Bernadette liked to say, but George never could find the irony in it.”
This funny, entertaining novel of acclaimed short story writer András Maros tells the story of two intertwining destinies on the two sides of the Atlantic: the sunny, nonchalant Florida of wealthy pensioners and the grim realities of modern-day Hungary. George Kedves is an old, world-famous violinist of Hungarian origin who lives his confortable life in America with a Hungarian wife thirty years his junior in a typical suburban house in Florida, slowly losing his interest in everyday life and his wife also – Tibor is a nineteen-year-old virgin in Hungary whose only hobby is looking for bloopers in B movies, and works as a cleaner at a company he detests.
Tibor has lost his father, and his mother is gravely ill. When his boss upsets him while he’s supposed to clean the premises of the Budapest Music Academy, he takes petty revenge by smearing bleach everywhere in the building – including the master violin of George Kedves, who arrived to Budapest for his first concert in an institution from where he was once kicked out during the entrance exams. Luckily the concert is held without problem thanks to a borrowed violin, and the scandal only breaks out after, when Tibor gets fired from his job and is left with nearly nothing in his life.
Having nothing to loose, he writes a heart-rending letter to George Kedves, asking for a job and some help to cure his ill mother, which Kedves reads out in front of his Floridan neighbors, who are instantly filled with sympathy for this poor Eastern-European boy. Finally it is Bernadette, Kedves’ young wife who arranges for him to come to their house in America, which results in a secret relationship between her and the unexperienced boy just exploring the joys of carnal pleasure, eventually leading to the deterioration of the marriage of the Kedves couple. But the arrival of the strange guest also changes the life of George Kedves too: he learns as much from the young boy as the boy learns from him, and slowly an unconventional friendship forms between the two men, one nearing the end of his life, the other only making his first steps.
Written in a witty, light-handed and ironic style, revealing the everyday life in an Eastern European country while showing how an Eastern European boy sees America and American society, Lemonade is exactly what the title suggests: a good read and an interesting story, which constantly alternates between the sweet and the sour – but is always refreshing.
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FROM THE PRESS
„András Maros’ first novel, just like his short stories, is written with a light but confident hand, resulting in a very readable text. […] Lemonade doesn’t want to be more than it is: an entertaining novel, with intellect and undoubtable literary qualities. […] We could say that András Maros »is the Hungarian Nick Hornby« – but let’s not jump into conclusions easily.”
Szabolcs Benedek, Élet és irodalom
„The young writer doesn’t make exceptions: the figure of the young, shopaholic wife who can’t deal with her own kids but flirts secretly with her tennis couch is a writer’s bullseye just as it is Katja, who became a call-girl from a burlesque-girl. Colourful characters, twisted plots. A wide panorama, well-proportioned critique of consumer society: here and there. I didn’t know András Maros’ name, but I’ll keep it in mind from now on. I don’t want to say names, but he has one of the liveliest-voiced storyteller in today’s (postmodern) prose scene.”
Tamás Kerekes, Magicafe.hu
„Maros András’ new book perfectly meets our expectations, if we’re yearning for an entertaining, light read for the night. […] The fact that Maros has talent, is not new at all, and after his short stories, he has put a novel on the reader’s nightstand.”
Gábor Ménes, Népszabadság
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
András Maros was born in 1971 in Budapest, and studied economics in Hungary as well as in the United States and the United Kingdom. He published two successful short story collections in 2001 and 2003, six theatre pieces between 2002 and 2011, and the feature film screenplay Overnight in 2007. He is the recipient of several awards and scholarships. He currently works in the field of advertising. Author homepage: http://andrasmaros.com/ More on the author
