The Diary of Geza Csath

Összefoglaló

An acclaimed neurologist widely viewed as Hungary's first contemporary author, Csath was also a morphine addict who shot and killed his wife before doing away with himself. The Diary begins as a clinically graphic depiction of Csath's conquest of dozens of women -- from chambermaids to aristocrats -- during his tenure as a doctor at a Slovakian health spa in 1912. All the while, he is engaged to Olga Honas, a Jewish girl he places above all other women in sensuality but considers 'entirely without moral taste'. Csath regularly injects morphine and opium to increase his enjoyment of certain events and lessen the discomfort of others. The second half of the diary is his harrowing descent into hopeless narcotic addiction. The effect is heightened by Csath's unsparing honesty and acute powers of self-observation. 'The Diary of Geza Csath' is introduced by Arthur Phillips and includes an essay by Dezso Kosztolanyi, summarising Csath's strange, unfinished life. Translated from Hungarian by Peter Reich. Includes period photographs, chronology and a map. Recommended for readers of Stendahl, Burroughs, Bulgakov, De Quincey, Casanova.