Fever At Dawn; A Novel
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016. First U.S. Edition [stated]. First printing [stated]. Hardcover. [4], 232, [2] pages. The author is an award-winning Hungarian film director. This book, his first novel, is based on the true story of his parents, and drawn from their letters. In July 1945, Miklos, a twenty-five-year-old Hungarian marooned in a Swedish hospital, has just been given a death sentence. His lungs are filled with fluid, and in six months he will be gone. But Miklos has never felt more alive, and he certainly didn't endure a concentration camp only to drown from within. And so he wages war on his own fate: he acquires the names of the 117 Hungarian women also recovering in Sweden, and he writes a letter to each of them in his beautiful cursive hand. One of these women, he is sure, will become his wife. In another part of the country, Lili reads his letter and decides to write back. For the next few months, the two engage in a funny, absurd, hopeful epistolary dance. Eventually, they find a way to meet. Fever at Dawn is a vibrant, ribald, and unforgettable tale, showing the death-defying power of the human will to live and to love. The author illuminates the incredible power of the human will--the drive not jut to stay alive, but to fight for a life worth celebrating. He has also made his novel into a pan-European film. Elizabeth Szasz is a freelance literary translator based in Budapest. Derived from a Kirkus review: Two Holocaust survivors fall in love at a distance by writing letters to one another in this debut novel. World War II has just ended, and the concentration camps have been liberated. Miklos and Lili, both Hungarian Jews, both survivors of the Belsen camp, are taken separately to two rehabilitation hospitals in Sweden, where they each begin a long convalescence. Then Miklos is given a poor prognosis: his lungs have degenerated to such an extent that he can expect to live for only six more months. Miklos responds to the news by beginning a letter-writing campaign. After obtaining the names and addresses of all 117 Hungarian women convalescing in Sweden, Miklos writes a flirtatious letter to each one. A few write back, but it’s Lili, a sweet and spirited girl, with whom Miklos develops a rich, and romantic, relationship. While their doctors hector them about their health, Miklos and Lili exchange letters, sweets, and kisses. Meanwhile, Miklos is in open rebellion at his own prognosis. This is the first novel by Gárdos, an award-winning film director in Hungary. In a note at the back of the book, Gárdos explains that the story is based on his own mother and father’s courtship; the excerpts from Miklos' and Lili's letters in the book are the letters they exchanged in real life. Indeed, Miklos is often referred to by the narrator as “my father.” It’s a charming story. Condition: Very good / Very good.
Keywords: Love, War, Human Will, Jews, Holocaust, Survivors, Convalescents, Epistles, Belsen Concentration Camp, Roman a clef, Correspondence, Debut Novels, First Novels
ISBN: 9780544769793
[Book #80846]
Price: $75.00