Sorstalansag [Fateless, Fatelessness]

First Edition. True first edition in the original Hungarian of Kertesz Imre's masterpiece, his first novel and the book for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature. It is the semi-autobiographical account of a 15 year old boy from Budapest who finds himself herded off to Auschwitz, his oblique understanding of the events taking place around him and his ways of coping with the everyday horrors with which he is confronted.

The book was published under Communism in Hungary and was generally ignored but for a small band of more liberal literati. It was not reprinted until 1985 and Kertesz only gained national recognition at the same time that he became world-famous with the award of the Nobel Prize in 2002. He was the first Hungarian to receive this award.

Although no printing figures are available it is unlikely that any more than 5,000 copies were printed and it is very likely that many were pulped. In the original paper covered boards lettered in black and in the dw designed by Engel Tevan Istvan. Photo portrait of the author to front flap.

The book itself is unread with no previous ownership marks. The dw has minimal signs of shelf wear but no tears or other notable defects. A rare opportunity to purchase one of the most important fictional treatments of the Holocaust, and possibly the most celebrated work in Hungarian literature since 1945.