Above the Earth and Beneath the Water; The Bloody Bread; The Road of Poverty

Mór JókaiProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.8

Word count: 482K words
Chapters: 49

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.Föld felett és viz alatt; A véres kenyér; A szegénység utja by Mór JókaiAuthor: Jókai, Mór, 1825-1904,Language: Hungarian, Class: PH: Language and Literatures: Finno-Ugrian and Basque languages and literatures, Release Date: Mar 29, 2018

Editor's review

This is a collection of three short and medium-length works by Mór Jókai, presented in the original Hungarian and centering respectively on adventures above and below the sea, blood-soaked bread, and the road to poverty. Jókai is a representative author of nineteenth-century Hungarian Romantic narrative, known for vivid scenes, a strong moral sense, and dramatic plotting. The pieces in this collection are moderate in length, and their themes involve adventure, struggles for survival, and poverty and wealth; together they display the tension of his storytelling and his concern for the fate of the poor. As a public-domain ebook, it is suitable for Hungarian-language readers and scholars of Hungarian literature as original-language reading material, and it can also serve as an introduction to the landscape of nineteenth-century Central and Eastern European narrative literature. It should be noted that this edition is in the original Hungarian, without a Chinese parallel text, so the barrier to entry is high for non-Hungarian readers; readers are advised to learn about Jókai's creative background first and then read the pieces one by one, rather than reading the whole collection at once and losing their grasp of the details.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Literature lovers and learners with Hungarian reading ability
Scholars and students studying nineteenth-century Hungarian literature and Jókai's work
Readers interested in Central and Eastern European adventure narratives and social-themed short fiction
Hungarian-language majors seeking to broaden their reading through original texts

Not a good fit for

General readers without a foundation in Hungarian who need a Chinese translation
Readers who prefer modern, concise narrative and have little patience for Romantic elaboration
Readers seeking only a single complete full-length story

Reading tips

Read the pieces separately, pausing briefly after each to sort out character motivations and conflicts.
Start with the shorter piece to build a feel for the language, then move on to the more complex ones.
Jot down questions about nineteenth-century Hungarian social background as you read, and look them up afterward.
Compare with Jókai's major full-length works to observe differences in narrative pacing in his short fiction.

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

How many works does this book contain, and what are their themes?

The collection contains three works, whose titles point respectively to adventures above and below the sea, blood-soaked bread, and the road to poverty. The themes cover adventure, struggles for survival, and poverty; for specific plot details, refer to the original text, and readers can read the pieces one by one.

Can I read this book without knowing Hungarian?

This edition is in the original Hungarian, with no Chinese parallel text or translation. Readers who do not know Hungarian will find it difficult to read directly; it is advisable to first look for a Chinese translation of Jókai's work, or to attempt the original only after acquiring basic Hungarian, so as to avoid a frustrating reading experience.

What is Mór Jókai's position in Hungarian literature?

Mór Jókai is an important nineteenth-century Hungarian novelist, known for Romantic narrative and broad social portrayal, and his works often involve history, adventure, and moral conflict. The pieces selected in this book are relatively short and can serve as introductory material for understanding his narrative style.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Mór Jókai Author · Hungarian · 1825–1904

Mór Jókai (1825–1904) was the most important Hungarian novelist, playwright and revolutionary of the 19th century, and a major representative of Romantic literature. Born in Komárom, he took part in the 1848 Pest uprising and drafted the Twelve Points, and was later elected to parliament. His representative works include A Hungarian Nabob, The Baron's Sons, Black Diamonds and The Golden Man. Jókai's writing depicts Hungarian history and social change on a grand scale, with dramatic plots, vivid characters, romantic colour and national feeling; he is often compared with Dickens and Scott. His output was enormous: 106 of his works are held in this collection, and a hundred-volume collected edition appeared in 1894, evidence of his productivity and influence.