I recently picked up two short novels by the Hungarian writer, Imre Kertesz, winner of the 2002 Nobel Prize in Literature. I was surprised to discover that the novels - Liquidation and Kaddish for an Unborn Child - both told the same story, although from different perspectives and with very different styles. In both, Auschwitz, where Kertesz himself was imprisoned, figures prominently. Kaddish was first published in 1990, and in an English translation in 1992; Liquidation was published in Budapest in 2003 and in an English translation last year. So, once the Nobel is secured, is a writer free to begin recycling old stories?
Peter Leithart
Peter J. Leithart is President of Theopolis Institute. He is the author of numerous books on theology, literature, and culture, including Theopolitan, Defending Constantine, and Baptized Body.
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