Figurák.

Gárdonyi, Géza, 1863-1922Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.2

Word count: 214K words
Chapters: 22

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today. Figurák. (Furcsa emberekről furcsa históriák.) by Géza Gárdonyi. Author: Gárdonyi, Géza, 1863-1922. Language: Hungarian. Class: PH: Language and Literatures: Finno-Ugrian and Basque languages and literatures. Release Date: Dec 21, 2012

Editor's review

This is a Hungarian-language work by Géza Gárdonyi (1863–1922), with a subtitle meaning “strange stories about strange people,” released as a public-domain ebook by Project Gutenberg. Gárdonyi was a major Hungarian novelist known for historical fiction, while this book, judging by its title, belongs to character sketches or short stories, with a tone of humor and irony, focusing on a variety of odd characters. For readers learning Hungarian or studying modern Hungarian literature, this is a free and valuable primary text that offers a glimpse of the author’s lighter touch beyond his long historical narratives. It is best treated as a collection of short pieces, to be enjoyed one by one for characterization and dialogue. Note that the book is in Hungarian and the electronic edition is plainly formatted, lacking translation notes and background commentary; readers without Hungarian will find it hard to use directly, and it is better suited as supplementary material for language learning and literary research.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Language learners with some foundation in Hungarian
Readers studying modern Hungarian literature and the short story genre
Readers who enjoy character sketches and humorous, satirical short stories
Translation trainees who need public-domain Hungarian source texts

Not a good fit for

Readers who know no Hungarian and only want a Chinese translation
Novel lovers expecting a continuous, long-form plot
Beginners who need detailed annotations and an introductory guide to the author’s life

Reading tips

Read the pieces independently and note each character’s traits and the humor after finishing one.
Read the dialogue sections closely with a Hungarian-Chinese dictionary to build up colloquial expressions.
Learn about Gárdonyi’s life and times first; the satire is easier to understand when reading the main text afterward.
Pick a short piece and try translating it, comparing your version with existing or others’ translations.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is there a Chinese translation of this book?

The materials only indicate that this is the Hungarian original released by Project Gutenberg and give no information about a Chinese translation. To read it in Chinese, you would need to look for a translation separately; this book itself cannot be used directly as Chinese reading material.

What does the title Figurák mean?

In Hungarian, Figurák means “figures” or “characters,” and the subtitle further explains that these are “strange stories about strange people.” This suggests the book is a collection of character-sketch short pieces rather than a continuous novel.

What is the author Gárdonyi known for?

Géza Gárdonyi was a Hungarian writer of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, known for historical fiction. This book belongs to his lighter character-story works and is suitable for readers who want to see the range of his writing, but it should not be used to judge his entire style.

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About the author

Gárdonyi, Géza, 1863-1922 Author

Gárdonyi, Géza (1863–1922) was a Hungarian writer whose biographical details are limited in publicly available sources. Two of his works are held in this collection: the novel A láthatatlan ember: Regény (The Invisible Man: A Novel) and Figurák. Judging from the works that survive, he was skilled in narrative prose and fiction, with a style attentive to character portrayal and plot development, and his writing has had a certain influence in Hungarian literature. Overall, his output centers on novels, with some shorter fiction and character sketches, written in a plain and concentrated style that reveals human fate and social life through concrete scenes. Because public information is limited, his life and full body of work remain to be further verified, and readers may approach his literary profile through the works that remain.