The 14-Carat Roadster
The 14-Carat Roadster
Ivan Gorchev was not yet twenty-one when he won the Nobel Prize in physics. To win a scientific award at such a young age is unprecedented, though some people might consider the means by which it was achieved a flaw. For Ivan Gorchev won the Nobel Prize in physics in a card game, called macao.
Book Excerpt
a tourist travelling incognito? A waiter should have eyes!"
"To have them knocked out?" the waiter moaned.
"How could I know the customer was off his head?"
"When will you understand that world-famous bathing resorts cannot be founded on guests who are sound in mind!"
The policeman, it seemed, knew this, because he stopped politely before Ivan Gorchev. He even raised his hand to his cap.
"Good day, sir."
"Good day. Would you like some chicken?"
"No, thank you."
"Fruit, cognac?"
"No, no..."
"Well, then, do accept at least a few roses!..."
"Oh, you are very kind, sir, but it's forbidden to walk around with roses instead of a baton on duty."
"Come now! Nor is it permitted to drink red wine, and yet you came out of the bar on the other side of the street..."
"Excuse my asking but why is it that you are consuming your tasty lunch in a kind of open-air performance?"
Gorchev looked up. He seemed for a moment to be unce
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Rejto Jeno is one of my favorite authors. I have read every book ever written by him. Multiple times and they still make me laugh out loud.
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I totally agree with Tamas. This is an excellent book to start exploring Rejto's fantasy world. The translation is not bad, although some of the phrases should not be translated word for word or too literary as the meaning doesn't come across properly. Still a good effort by the translator. The ideal solution would be to use this translation as a raw form and from this rewrite it with the help of an English native speaker who has a similar sense of humor. I often imagine some of his books as a blockbuster film. Maybe one day...
11/06/2010
Rejtő is in my top 5 authors, I have all of his books. He is very popular in Hungary; you could not find a Hungarian who doesn't know him. He was contemporary of P.G. Wodehouse, and just like him, Rejtő has his unmistakable, specific, fantastic humor. Unlike Wodehouse, who's heros were mostly millionaires or other members of high society, Rejtő's heroes many times are from the periphery of the society.
The 14 Carat Roadster is not an exception. The hero is a son of a Russian emigrant in France who just have been sacked from his job but has won few thousand Francs on a card game called macao. He throws the money everywhere, but he find himself accidently in the middle of an international conspiracy. He falls in love, fights a lot and he have to join the Foreign Legion as well... where his newly employed secretary replaces him sometimes, for he is to busy to stay in the barracks.
The 14 Carat Roadster is one of Rejtő's best novels, with his specific humor, awesome storytelling and in a very good translation. I highly recommend it to anyone who would like an easy entertainment, crazy adventures, and fantasic humor. This is a masterpiece. Really :-)
The 14 Carat Roadster is not an exception. The hero is a son of a Russian emigrant in France who just have been sacked from his job but has won few thousand Francs on a card game called macao. He throws the money everywhere, but he find himself accidently in the middle of an international conspiracy. He falls in love, fights a lot and he have to join the Foreign Legion as well... where his newly employed secretary replaces him sometimes, for he is to busy to stay in the barracks.
The 14 Carat Roadster is one of Rejtő's best novels, with his specific humor, awesome storytelling and in a very good translation. I highly recommend it to anyone who would like an easy entertainment, crazy adventures, and fantasic humor. This is a masterpiece. Really :-)
11/20/2009