Lázár Review: A Gothic Hungarian Epic from a 22-Year-Old Author
A determined talent emerges with Nelio Biedermann's debut novel Lázár, a gothic-inflected saga that has garnered significant attention across Europe for its quirky and confident exploration of 20th-century Hungarian history. Remarkably, the author belongs to the first wave of Generation Z fiction writers, born in 2003, with no personal memory of the fall of communism or the events of September 11th.
A Gothic Fable with Historical Depth
The opening pages transport readers to an isolated manor house bordering a forbiddingly dark forest, where a strange-looking baby named Lajos is born. This unearthly child is destined to carry forward the name of the Lázárs, a noble dynasty plagued by madness and violent deaths. Meanwhile, the baron's older brother Imre lurks in another wing, barred from inheritance due to insanity.
Lajos von Lázár's parentage proves more complex than initially appears, revealing an illicit liaison between Maria, the lady of the manor, and a groom who perishes from a horse kick. Maria takes the secret of Lajos's true paternity to her grave, an event that feels inevitable within the story's ominous atmosphere.
Historical Upheaval and Family Fortunes
The novel gradually reveals itself as more than mere fable, exploring how a single family's fortunes become entwined with the historic upheavals of the 20th century. The Lázár family seat near Pécs, on Hungary's southern border, serves as the stage where enormous political transformations unfold.
Beginning when Hungary remains part of the Habsburg empire, the story follows the nation's transformation into a fascist autocracy and later a Soviet satellite state. As privileged former elites, the Lázárs become prime targets for Soviet Hungary's class warriors, adding political tension to their personal dramas.
Generational Saga Across Six Decades
Successive generations of the Lázár family navigate this turmoil across the novel's 280 pages, covering sixty years of history without feeling rushed. Readers follow Sandor and his wife Maria, their children Lajos and Ilona, and finally Lajos's own children Pista and Eva, reaching the failed Hungarian uprising of 1956.
Translated by prolific German-language translator Jamie Bulloch, Lázár creates a captivating atmosphere of secrets, repression, and robust sexuality. The narrative maintains mordant economy, focusing on the Lázárs' personal lives while historical changes occur just off-stage.
Characters and Relationships
The characters experience love, bereavement, trauma, and sexual turmoil throughout the novel. Patriarch Sandor seeks solace in an extramarital affair with the bewitching but unwashed Mrs Virag, whose physical presence provides temporary escape from political pressures and family burdens.
A colourful cast of minor characters energizes the narrative, including peculiar servants, an idealistic priest, pioneering psychoanalyst Mr Kiraly who helps Lajos untangle sexual trauma, and even a cameo appearance from Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin.
Literary Influences and Structural Considerations
The novel demonstrates Biedermann's deep engagement with both history and literature, nodding to influences including ETA Hoffmann, Virginia Woolf, Marcel Proust, James Joyce, and Thomas Mann through allusions and borrowings. Specific references to In Search of Lost Time and Joyce's The Dead suggest a determined talent consciously placing itself within an ambitious literary lineage.
However, the book's episodic structure grows progressively less satisfying as the narrative advances. Rather than continuous story development, readers encounter a series of snapshots from different moments and viewpoints. Scenes often remain static, light on incident but rich in mood, interiority, and backstory.
Strengths and Shortcomings
At its best, Lázár illuminates with eccentric flair a crucial piece of 20th-century historical jigsaw. The novel excels in creating atmosphere and exploring how historical pressures manifest in personal lives, with the Lázár family name and 20th-century turmoil proving overwhelming forces that drive characters toward alcoholism, violence, and inherited trauma.
Some narrative elements feel underdeveloped, including intriguing Uncle Imre who remains mysteriously underused and Lajos's unearthly appearance which receives substantial emphasis at the opening but lacks meaningful payoff. Dialogue sometimes lacks the energetic exchange that creates convincing human interaction.
Despite these structural unevenness, Lázár represents an impressive debut that will intrigue readers about what this precocious author creates next. The novel successfully blends gothic atmosphere with historical consciousness, offering a fresh perspective on Hungary's turbulent 20th century through the lens of a talented young writer bridging generational and literary divides.
