MAGDOLNA BALOGH (ed.): Szomszédok a kirakatban: A szlovák irodalom recepciója Magyarországon 1990 után [Neighbors on Display: The Reception of Slovak in Hungary after 1990] Budapest – Pozsony: reciti – SZTA Világirodalmi Intézet, 2018. 151 pp. ISBN 978-615-5478-64-2

Although Hungary and share gary after 1990. In this sense, the book puts a nearly thousand-year-long common his- forward a number of texts that open up and tory, for a long time their mutual past figu- maintain a dialogue about the reception of red as an obstacle further separating the two Slovak literature in Hungary, and thus Neigh­ nations rather than bringing them together. bors on Showcase becomes the agent of inter- It is no wonder, then, that despite their geo- cultural mediation. graphic proximity, and Hungarians The collection is divided into two parts. know very little about each other even today. The first section takes a holistic approach Whilst prior to the fall of Communism, Cze- and engages with the institutional and cultu- choslovakia and Hungary as friendly nati- ral background of the reception of contem- ons tried to incentivize cultural mediation porary Slovak literature in Hungary. Taking between the two countries, Slovak artists a more particularistic approach, the second were not only eclipsed by their Czech coun- part of the book examines the dilemmas of terparts, but also the dominant ideology of the previous section through the lens of par- the era largely supported the mediation of art ticular authors and works of art. that had no real significance outside the con- The first section entitled “The cultural ceptual matrices of Marxism. After the end of and institutional background of reception” an epoch that opposed any constructive eng- begins with Renata Deák’s text “Good book, agement with national history and as the two good neighbourhood”. Taking an important nations sought to come to terms with their role in organizing the 23rd Budapest Inter- past, historical traumas were revived, often national Book Festival, Deák not only offers with the support of the newly-elected poli- insight behind the façades of the festival but tical elites, thus impeding any constructive also contextualizes and highlights its cul- intercultural dialogue. Hence, in the 1990s, tural significance. Having touched on the the reception of Slovak literature in Hungary possible reasons for the sorry state of Slovak was nearly non-existent. It was only around literature’s reception in Hungary, Deák insi- 2005 that Slovak authors became regularly nuates that the book festival had a positive translated into Hungarian and readers gained effect on intercultural mediation between the some familiarity with Slovak literature. The two countries: not only was an unpreceden- next stepping stone was the 23rd Budapest ted number of Slovak works translated into International Book Festival in 2016, at which Hungarian but also meaningful cultural rela- Slovak literature was the guest of honor. The tionships were established between the two publication under review grows out from the countries. Yet, as Deák correctly observes, success of the book festival and is the product whether it will be possible to build on this of the mutual effort between the Institute for success remains to be seen. Literary Studies of the Hungarian Academy Gábor Hushegyi’s article approaches the of Sciences and the Institute of World Litera- 23rd Budapest International Book Festival ture of the Slovak Academy of Sciences. from the perspective of cultural diplomacy. Szomszédok a kirakatban (Neighbors on According to Hushegyi the success of the Showcase) is a pioneering undertaking – for book festival is an exception rather than the there has not been any previous publication norm. He implies that the systematic defi- on the reception of Slovak literature in Hun- ciencies of Slovak cultural diplomacy are

Recenzie / Book Reviews 125 rooted in the failure of the Slovak political foundation of the Anasoft Litera literary elites to recognize its importance in maintai- award was a turning point with regards to ning diplomatic ties. By sketching out a new the reception of Slovak literature in Hungary. model for cultural mediation, Hushegyi invi- That is, according to the author, the literary tes us to imagine a future where culture plays award acquired a canonizing function as well an organic role in Slovak foreign affairs. as functioning as a reference point for Hun- Anikó Dusík’s chapter, building on garian publishing houses with regards to Slo- the concepts of Pascale Casanova, George vak literature. Steiner, and Jan Assmann, sheds light on how Taking a more particularistic approach, the residues of a shared cultural past mani- the second part of the book begins with Judit fest themselves in the contemporary texts of Görözdi’s paper that deals with the Hungar- Slovak writers. Dusík’s argument is premised ian reception of Pavel Vilikovský. In it, the on the assumption that the binary opposi- author goes beyond the scopes of the tra- tion of us and them is not only present in our ditional parallel to Péter Esterházy, and she cultures but also plays an important role in seeks to draw attention to the similarities of constructing our identities. In this respect, Vilikovský’s works with those of Péter Nádas Dusík suggests that the memory of a distant and Pál Závada. Nevertheless, Görözdi cor- past still shapes contemporary Slovak expe- rectly observes that, as the power of Vilik- rience. ovský’s texts lies in their linguistic ingenu- Magdolna Balogh focuses on the impor- ity, recognizing these commonalities as well tant role of the Kalligram publishing house as the author’s reception is premised on the in cultural mediation between Hungary and quality of the translation of his works into Slovakia. As Balogh writes, the publishing Hungarian. house through the act of cultural mediation In his study, Tibor Gintli seeks to reeval- seeks to create a regional sense of identity so uate Vladimír Balla’s dominant perception as to counter nationalist, ethnocentric ideo- in Hungary that usually associates his works logies. In this sense, Kalligram by seeking with those of Franz Kafka. In so doing, Gintli to construct a central European identity has compares the absurdity of the human condi- created a new mode of cultural mediation in tion that is so apparent in Balla’s writings to the region. the work of Thomas Bernhard. In this con- In “Tranculturalism and contemporary nection, for Balla the only authentic response Slovak literature: expat, migrant and dissi- to unstoppable decay (our human condition) dent”, Zoltán Németh suggests that in the is the melancholic acceptance of our inevita- East Central European cultural space, cultu- ble finitude. ral, ethnic, and national boundaries are not Sarolta Deczki’s chapter “Accidental trai- as clear-cut as many would have us believe. tor” focuses on Daniela Kapitáňová ’s Ceme­ Thanks to globalization, migration, and the tery Book. The central character of the novel, advance of informatics every culture has Samko Tále, a mentally and physically disa- become hybridized. In this respect, the featu- bled man who cherishes hatred and ill-will res of transculturality – which Németh loca- towards the community he lives in, beco- tes in the texts of contemporary Hungarian mes an informer for the communist regime and Slovak authors – suggest that cultures in thanks to his desire for order. Consequently, East Central Europe are not monolithic but he inadvertently engages in the construction heterogeneous and inherently intertwined. of his own demise. Deczki asserts that the Lívia Paszmár examines the Hungarian novel’s positive perception in Hungary has translations of Slovak works in the period to do with the fact that Kapitáňová ’s novel between 1990 and 2015, focusing on the taps into the social self-reflection Hungarian institutional and social aspects of cultural society was going through at the time of the mediation. Paszmár implies that the 2006 novel’s publication.

126 RECENZIE / BOOK REVIEWS In “Fragmentary worlds”, Judit Dobry ced in Hungarian, considering the difficul- provides an insight into the difficulties and ties that stem from the cultural and linguistic dilemmas a translator faces when recreating differences and suggesting solutions to these the works of Veronika Šikulová in Hunga- issues. rian. Dobry asks if a family narrative is con- The eleven articles that comprise the ceivable solely from fragments as well as she publication open up a novel, multidimen- explores the depths of how such a multiface- sional discourse about the reception of Slo- ted linguistic world can be transferred in its vak literature in Hungary after 1990. Conse- totality into another language. quently, Neighbors on Showcase may provide Tímea Pénzes also focuses on questi- the foundation on which a larger intercul- ons of translation and cultural mediation. tural dialogue could be premised, although Looking at Monika Kompaníková’s novel The whether this will be so remains to be seen. Fifth Boat, Pénzes is particularly interested ENIKŐ CZUCZ in how the metaphorical microcosm of the Comenius University in Bratislava twelve-year-old protagonist Jarka is reprodu- Slovak Republic

MARIA SAAS – ŞTEFAN BAGHIU – VLAD POJOGA (eds.): The Culture of Translation in Romania/Übersetzungskultur und Literaturübersetzen in Rumänien Berlin – Bern – Bruxelles – New York – Oxford – Warszawa – Wien: Peter Lang GmbH, 2018, 326 pp. ISBN 978-3-631-77205-8

In the foreword of the volume with the Cultural Criticism (1829–1948)”, translation promising title The Culture of Translation in studies as a standalone discipline in Roma- Romania/Übersetzungskultur und Literatur­ nia are “of a fairly recent date”: before 2000, übersetzen in Rumänien, its editors empha- translations often fell into the field of inter- size the ambitious main motivation of its est of linguistics, comparative literature, and creation: “an attempt to signal the need for cultural studies. Moreover, the interest in a shift in Romanian scholarly and public per- the theoretical aspects of translation has so spectives on translation”. The volume repre- far focused on two crucial periods (from the sents the results of a collaborative Romanian 16th to mid-19th century and after World and German project “Writers and Transla- War II), thus leaving out the ideologically and tors” focusing on , in theoretically varied period of the second half particular on the Romanian perspective on of the 19th and the first half of the 20th cen- foreign literature, co-financed by the Lucian tury. Terian therefore tracks the period from Blaga University of Sibiu and the Romanian the publication of the first Romanian liter- National Cultural Fund Administration. It is ary periodical (1829) to the establishment of divided into three thematic sections accord- the communist regime (1948), focusing on ing to methodologies and the degree of dis- the critical and ideological views of transla- tance taken in the analysis. tion. Unlike other theorists who called this The first section, titled “General Analy- period “proto-“ or “pre-translation studies” sis and Quantitative Studies”, has a broader, (G. Lungu Badea), he speaks of microtheo- especially historical/chronological focus, and ries and distinguishes three phases: the phase presents contemporary insights into transla- 1829–1866 focused on translating the classics tion. As Andrei Terian argues in his study with the aim to enrich the expressive potential “Translating the World, Building the Nation: of Romanian literature; the phase 1866–1918 Microtheories of Translation in Romanian of ample “directional criticism” focused on

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