Unwittingly I’ve been accumulating quite a stack of East European writers to read, so I plan to tackle the following during the first six months of this year. My eastward direction is perhaps a guilty reaction to my failure to head west to pursue my commitment to the Savage Detectives Group Read. I’m consumed with Krasznahorkai at present and don’t wish to read anything else for a few more weeks.
- The Melancholy of Resistance – László Krasznahorkai
- War & War – László Krasznahorkai
- Sátántango – László Krasznahorkai
- Embers – Sándor Márai
- Parallel Stories – Péter Nádas
- Fiasco – Imre Kertész
- Dukla – Andrzej Stasiuk
- Memories of the Future – Sigizmund Krzhizhanovsky
- Theory of Prose – Viktor Shklovsky
- The Book Of Hrabal– Péter Esterházy
- The Foundation Pit – Andrei Platonov
- Skylark – Dezső Kosztolányi
- The Notebook / The Proof / The Third Lie – Ágota Kristóf
Time's Flow Stemmed 
I would recommend adding Agata Kristof’s The Notebook / The Proof / The Third Lie.
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Thanks, Steve, for the recommendation. I’ve not heard of Kristof but it looks interesting so I’ve added the edition to my reading list.
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Other than Krzhizhanovsky (whom I have never heard of) and Nadas, I want to read each of these too! How odd.
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I discovered Krzhizhanovsky via The Complete Review (http://www.complete-review.com/reviews/glas/krzhizs.htm).
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Most tempting. Lots of books on my vague someday list.
Except for the Krasznahorkai – March is the Krasznahorkai party at Wuthering Expectations. The party is scheduled for whenever I finish Satantango.
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I’m excited about Satantango, both reading the book and seeing the film (though I’ll have to lay on cocktails and dinner to persuade my wife to watch the film).
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Thank you for the list. I just discovered Krasznahorkai and Platonov so I’m eager to read more by them. And The Book Of Hrabal sounds intriguing since I’m going through his work…anything on him, even fiction involving him, I want to check out. Again, thanks.
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Very welcome, Dwight, I intend to get around to Hrabal this year, but someone inspired me to buy The Book of Hrabal so oddly I’ll be reading fiction about him before I read his work. That might be a first.
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olga tokarczuk, halina poswiatowska: http://twice22.org/HalinaFAQ/WierszeWybraneInTranslation/info-help/README.html
libuse monikova, slavenka drakulic, alexander herzen, bruno schulz, cechov, kertesz: galley boat log, marai: diaries, partly here: http://www.hungarianquarterly.com/no173/2.htm
roman ingarden…. & jozef czapski on proust….
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Ooh, new treasures to explore. Thank you. I have the first volume of Alexander Herzen’s memoirs, which I may get around to this year.
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Given such a feast of promising titles to lose oneself into, you can hardly be blamed for bailing out on the Bolaño. I’m most curious about Krasznahorkai and Krzhizhanovsky, both cool-sounding names on my wishlist.
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I also recommend Hrabal. This is a fantastic list. I’ve read Embers and Have Nadas’ The Book of Memories on my list to read this year. I also recommend Tokarczuk.
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Thanks, Kinna, Hrabal is definitely on my list to read some time, perhaps not in the first half of this year though. I’ve added Tokarczuk to my to-be-explored list. Thanks.
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Thanks for the list. I have been thinking of reading more from the East European region (Europe in general) and your list would be helpful to me. The title ‘Parallel Stories’ intrigues me of the lot.
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You’re welcome.Parallel Stories is intriguing, attracting positive and negative reviews. I read snatches of it and look forward to a full reading.
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look forward to your reviews on this
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