Péter Nádas was born in Budapest in 1942. In 1972, he published The End of a Family Novel, which was later translated into 21 languages. His novel A Book of Memories was published in 1986 and was translated into 11 languages.
When the Hungarian censors finally consented to the publication of A Book of Memories, it was compared to the work of Marcel Proust and Thomas Mann. After its translation into English ? more than a decade later ? Susan Sontag called it "the greatest novel written in our time, and one of the great books of the century".
In 1991, Nádas was awarded the Österreichische Staatspreis für Europäische Literatur, and in the same year received the Kossuth Prize, Hungary?s highest honour for artists.
Some publishing industry insiders say this years Nobel Prize in Literature will go to an author from the Middle East in acknowledgement of the Arab Spring. Others suggest the prize will go to someone less politically involved than last year?s winner Mario Vargas Llosa.
The winner of this year?s prize is expected to be announced on October 6.
Source: Hungarian News Agency (MTI)
