Sándor Szathmári

Szathmari's grave in the Farkasréti cemetery in Budapest

Sándor Szathmári (born June 19, 1897 in Gyula , † July 16, 1974 in Budapest ) was a Hungarian writer who made a name for himself in particular in Esperanto literature .

job

Szathmári was very interested in science. From 1924 to 1957 he worked as an engineer at the Hungarian locomotive factory MÁVAG .

Main work

Szathmári's best-known work is the satirical and socially critical novel “ Gulliver's Journey to Kasohinien ” (“Vojaĝo al Kazohinio”), which he began in 1935. It was first published in Esperanto in 1941 in a heavily censored form. The full version was not published until 1946. Since the author felt himself to be misunderstood, he wrote explanations of the story that first appeared in 1960 in the Esperanto magazine " Sennacieca Revuo ".

Regarding the content of the work: The "Journey to Casino Asia" ties in with Jonathan Swift's " Gulliver's Travels ". The first-person narrator Gulliver is an English doctor in the Navy and an ardent patriot. In 1935 he sailed on a warship to Southeast Asia, was shipwrecked and landed on the island of Kasohinien. There he first met the Hinen group of people. The Hinen embody the rational life without hierarchies. They are technically at least a hundred years ahead of the Europeans. They are completely numb and have no understanding of Gulliver's emotional needs. In the second part, Gulliver comes to the Behinen, which are supposed to be a reflection of real people. They have hierarchies, nations, wars. Gulliver now takes on a role towards them similar to that which they had towards him: He does not understand at all why they behave so irrationally. In the end, he escapes from the island and lands happily on an English ship. There he encounters irrationalities similar to those of the Behinen, but he does not recognize the similarities.

The novel is a brilliant parody of nationalism and militarism. Reviews sometimes criticize the excessive content (which a satire could hardly do without). The reviewers agree on the lively language of the work. An edition of the work in German is in preparation.