Last Notes
A collection of stories
Tamas Dobozy

Arcade
08/18/2006
Hardcover/181 pages
ISBN: 1-55970-808-5
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"Dobozy writes with meticulous detail and a compelling tenderness…"

 

Last Notes is a collection of ten short stories written by English Professor Dr. Tamas Dobozy. They were first published in Canada and now in the United States.

 

Tales of Hungarian Resistance, Four Uncles, The Inert Landscapes of Gyorgy Ferenc and Last Notes are superb. Several reflect the aftermath of Germany’s invasion of Hungary on the people who survived and the unique way some people adjusted – or didn’t.

His parents were Hungarian immigrants. Many of his stories come from childhood experiences and accounts that have been told to him.

Dobozy writes with meticulous detail and a compelling tenderness and that fully engages his reader.

In “Last Notes,” he is at his best in the stories about Hungary.

The remaining stories are not of the same quality.

One European review heralded them as “Morbid Black humor.”

Judge for yourself: (paraphrased) “A couple whose marriage is in trouble discovers boxing with each other makes it better. She is eight and half months pregnant. They are in the ring boxing when she whispers, “It isn’t yours.” He thinks he will hit the baby and kill it, but can’t. She’s glad, and tells him she lied, the baby is his.”

Other stories seemed to conclude without an ending and I was left wondering what happened.

Although, I do not recommend this book, I will be watching for his second book. He is working on a collection of short stories almost entirely about his Hungarian roots.

English Professor Tamas Dobozy has published his stories in journals throughout North America. He lives with his family in Ontario and teaches in the Department of English and Film Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University. In the spring of 2007 he will be the first Fulbright Visiting Chair in Creative Writing at New York University.
Reviewer: Lee McKay