In the literary commentary The Nobel and the Booker remind us of the apocalyptic and absurd in Central European fiction, the author says:
"I felt – and this could very well be personal – that the only country that can truly be described as Central European is Hungary. Just over a couple of hours by train from Vienna, the gateway too Western Europe, Budapest, with its scattering of Turkish thermal baths and eclectic blend of art nouveau, gothic, baroque, and communist architecture, is far less of a Western city than its Austrian neighbour. Budapest remains outside of Western Europe not only geographically but also historically and culturally. But while it is touched by some of the major historical narratives of Eastern Europe, Budapest stays on their fringes too, as does Hungary on the whole. Lacerated by both Nazism and Communism, submitting to Hitler and “saved” by the Soviets, Hungary defines that space that is both misunderstood and hybridised – Central European."
