Helping Verbs of the Heart (Quartet Encounters S.) [Paperback]

Peter Esterhazy (Author), Michael Henry Heim (Translator)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The main narrative thread of this self-consciously avant-garde novella is a fairly straightforward account of the death of the narrator's mother. A subtext consists of emotional observations about the event, which take the form of random jottings. Mother is incarcerated in a nightmarishly described hospital, ministered to by nurses whose sexuality is barely confined by their tight uniforms and attended by a doctor whose treatment comes just shy of mercy killing. After the tasteful funeral, in which the surviving family is consoled by a bewildering array of relatives, the narrator is visited by his mother's ghost, who vehemently asserts that he is the one who has died. "Mother" 's hallucinatory descriptions of her life as a young girl and woman are juxtaposed with a painfully real flashback of hospital life. Known for his controversial subject matter, Esterhazy is one of Hungary's best-known writers; this is the first of his books to be published in English.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Hungarian --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Texas Bookman (March 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0704301741
• ISBN-13: 978-9631338096
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,603,420 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Above all Naturalism, November 13, 2003

By 

Adam Zamaroczy (Hungary) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Helping Verbs of the Heart (Quartet Encounters S.) (Paperback)

This book is a poignantly profound confession of a sincere mother-child rapport, when it gets measured in the tragedy of a terminal disease. Unforgettable.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and difficult but good, June 13, 2000

By 

M. J. Smith (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Helping Verbs of the Heart (Quartet Encounters S.) (Paperback)

This book explores the narrator's mother's death - the second half being narrated by the dead mother. Interspered between the narrative segments are quotations from a wide variety of literary sources. In the narrative segments, especially those of the mother, dreams and "reality" are intertwined. The book deserves multiple readings to fully appreciate its content but is certainly enjoyable as a single read.

Note: since there is no description of the book this is translated from Hungarian and is part of a larger work.