[ book tip by Gábor Palkó ] Fancsiko and Pinta is a topical novel. It’s topical because – despite the complexity of its narrative structure – it deals persuasively with divorce and the role of the child during such an ordeal. Nevertheless, the formal component, how things are said, is by no means secondary or to be brushed aside. As readers, we witness the dogged attempt of both parents to find some equilibrium in their lives. At the same time, two fairytale characters – the ones mentioned in the title – become involved in the profane trinity of the family. And so the relationship, between reality and fiction, life and art, child and adult, takes on a quality that can no longer be viewed as simple to depict. Fancsikó and Pinta may, indeed, be delightful figments of the imagination whose aim is to fix and/or compensate the steadily deteriorating relationship of the parents. Or perhaps they are merely there to ensure their survival. Though from how the story is told, we’ve no idea who the narrator might be. Someone is making things up, but this person is not just the child or one of the adults, but someone who oscillates between the two. Moreover, the language used in orchestrating the characters does not direct our attention only to the family’s drama, but also to the meshing of fantasy, fairytale, literary narrative, and/or the describability of facts and perspectives – or perhaps even to the question of how, and within what conditions of genre, literary communication becomes possible. All the same, the prose in Esterhazy’s story is by no means cumbersome, pedantic or confining. And as far as its scope, tone and manner are concerned, the book includes a variety of texts. Not to mention that it foregrounds a “main thread”, one that facilitates things even for those who have absolutely no interest in issues of narrative, the constitution of literature, or art in general.

[ book info ] Esterházy, Péter: Fancsikó és Pinta. Írások egy darab madzagra fűzve. (Book language: magyar) Magvető, 1981 .
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