Embers

At Cher's insistence, I have read Embers, written by a Hungarian writer, Sándor Márai. Reading the book has nothing to do with my trip to Budapest. The second half of the novel is taken up with a soliloquy. I can see F. Murray Abraham onstage, playing the General. I'm not sure who to cast as his long-suffering guest. The most poignant passage occurs early on. The less fortunate friend of the future General—a man born to a family of wealth—tells him about his guilt over his parents' sacrifice to send him to military school. "When I'm staying with you and I top one of the servants, I am expending a portion of their lives. It is very hard to live in such a way." Posted by eku at January 21, 2004 12:41 AM