The Invisible Voice: Meditations on Jewish Themes

Hungarian novelist, essayist and former International PEN president Konr d (The Case Worker) might just as easily have subtitled this ruminative book ""Meditations on Central European Themes."" Having survived the Holocaust almost by a fluke, the author endured Hungary's Communist years; he retains the skeptical worldview of an intellectual, unobservant Hungarian Jew whose hybrid identity invokes ""two instructively unfortunate peoples."" Conversational but somber, these 20 essays, written from 1985 to 1997, are divided into sections that are numbered continuously throughout the book, which may seem odd, but aptly suggests connective themes and ironies. ""I do not believe people are good by nature,"" he declares at the outset, and continues in an even more provocative vein by arguing that ""the Jewish people bear some of the responsibility for becoming victims in such horrifying proportions."" Sidestepping the notion of community, Konr d instead interprets Jewishness as ""the imperative of personal freedom of thought."" Unlike many friends, he stayed in Hungary after the 1956 Soviet invasion, believing that ""a sane democracy could be fashioned here."" Though he acknowledges ruefully that he didn't think it would take 33 years, he remains optimistic about pluralism and democracy at home. As for Israel, he wonders about the sacrifices implied by nationalism: ""they gave up being cosmopolitan... and therefore they lost something of value."" The Bible, muses this essentially literary man, need not be regarded as ""the sacred word,"" but as a novel with worthy parables. His probing mind provokes further meditations and yields many insights. (May)