The Melancholy of Resistance

The Melancholy of Resistance is a novel by Hungarian author László Krasznahorkai, written in 1989, and the source material for Béla Tarr's film Werckmeister Harmonies.

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The novel revolves around Mrs. Eszter, Mrs. Pflaum, the young Valuska, and several other characters, developing a series of fragmented stories that depict the chaotic events in a small Hungarian town: a giant whale is brought to town by a circus, and onlookers gather, each with their own motivations and intentions. Soon after, rumors spread throughout the town that the circus people are secretly plotting an evil scheme. Terrified citizens cling to any semblance of order they can find to criticize—music, cosmology, fascism, and so on.

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The Melancholy of Resistance is a challenging and pessimistic book, and the author's satire of internal revolution in Hungary. However, through the author's surrealistic brushstrokes and highly跳跃 narrative structure, we can still appreciate the beauty of Krasznahorkai's linguistic artistry. His unique long and complex sentences are a reading challenge even for Hungarian readers. The difficult diction and syntax are meticulously polished, presenting a delicate yet raw, complex, grand, and rhythmic appearance. It is said that the English translator of his work won a translation award because critics believed he had "invented a Krasznahorkai-esque English."

2023-06-01

浙江文艺出版社

439

9787533971953