Esther's Inheritance, By Sandor Marai, trans. George Szirtes

Esther's Inheritance is similar in tone and structure to Embers, the novel that brought Sandor Marai international fame a decade or so after his suicide in 1989. Again, the protagonist is visited by someone from the past – in Esther's case, the great love of her life, whom she hasn't seen for 20 years.

Esther and her cousin, Nunu, who acts as housekeeper, find their tranquil existence in the Hungarian countryside thrown into confusion when a telegram announces that Lajos will be visiting the grand house with his children. The two women remember him with varying degrees of dislike as a liar, a fantasist, a cheat and a narcissist, and wonder why he has decided to return. They are suspicious of his intentions, and have every reason to be, as is subtly revealed.

This novella is not an exercise in nostalgia; the family secrets it uncovers are too painful. Esther's dead sister, Vilma, who married Lajos and bore him a son and daughter, plays an important role – of which Esther has been totally ignorant. Vilma's hatred of her sibling, her need to deprive Esther of the happiness she is anticipating, comes back in force in one of the most shocking scenes. Marai understands that ghosts have a way of revivifying themselves, as he demonstrated so forcefully in Embers, and Vilma is of their undying number. She is a terrible presence.

Towards the close of Esther's Inheritance, which ends with beautifully crafted ambiguity, Lajos and Esther – the lovers who were not to be – have a conversation that shifts in several directions. Lajos is as reckless with other people's money as he always was, as heartless in his dealings, yet retains something of Esther's doubting affection. She ought to loathe him, but draws back in the face of his charm. Good novelists respect such mysteries, presenting them and giving the reader the opportunity for speculation. George Szirtes's translation reads well apart from occasional jarring Americanisms, which I suspect were inflicted by the publisher.

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