Quartet £12
The Paper Bridge: A Return to Budapest, By Monica Porter
Sunday 22 November 2009
Latest in Reviews
Paper is the great tool any writer must use to build bridges, and the bridges Monica Porter must build are many and complex. Chief among them is one between her chosen life in London and her cultural heritage from that historically beleaguered nation at the meeting point of east and west, Hungary.
This informative and evocative book about the author's journey back to her homeland, after fleeing with her family to the US as a small child, was first published in 1981 to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution; this new edition arrives with a foreword by the former diplomat, Sir Bryan Cartledge. It is a poignant story of burning as well as building bridges, in political and personal realms. But the most encouraging feature of 21st-century Hungary is its young people, Porter finds.
"How boring!" Margaret Thatcher exclaimed when Cartledge declared his wish to be named ambassador to Hungary. This fascinating book enthusiastically dismantles any such prejudice.
- 1 BANNED: The most controversial films
- 2 Spotify: 1 million plays, £108 return
- 3 Picture preview: Lucian Freud drawings
- 4 Mona Lisa's 'twin sister' is discovered – 500 years late
- 5 OK Go: How video saved the radio stars
- 6 Whitney Houston: The diva who had – and lost – it all
- 7 Last night's viewing - America's Serial Killer: True Stories, Channel 4; Protecting Our Children, BBC2
- 1 Kate Allen: It's time for America to put an end to this shameful scandal
- 2 Spotify: 1 million plays, £108 return
- 3 Chemotherapy is 'safe during pregnancy'
- 4 BBC to issue global apology for documentaries that broke rules
- 5 Rhodri Marsden: What we like and what we don't like are often closer than you'd think
- 6 Lightning kills an entire football team
- 7 I was born to be a killer. Every night I see the Devil in my dreams
- 8 Henry does it his way, ending on a high note
- 9 Modern lovers: The 'sexual body warriors' and pioneers transforming 21st-century relationships
- 10 Redknapp hints at same old faces for England
Free trial of new Independent iPad app
Get your daily dose of the best of British journalism, sponsored by American Airlines
Win a three-week coastal jaunt
Spend three weeks exploring every nook and cranny of gorgeous Atlantic Canada.
Amazing restaurant offers
Three glasses of free champagne and a special menu at 46 top London restaurants.
Latest Independent competitions
Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.
Commercial thought leaders
Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.
Day In a Page
Apple admits it has a human rights problem
James Lawton: AVB looks all at sea
Procrastination: Not now – I'm busy
Silent revolution at the Baftas
The diva who had – and lost – it all

Comments