Half-Understood Things — Antal Szerb in translation https://antalszerb.com/ Antal Szerb (1901–1945) was a Hungarian essayist, novelist, and literary critic. His novels, short stories, and a handful of essays are available in English. Most of his work, including essays, diaries, letters, lectures, and several books of literary criticism, is not yet translated. en-gb The Sickness of the Century https://antalszerb.com/essay/sickness-of-the-century/ https://antalszerb.com/essay/sickness-of-the-century/ Tue, 30 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT And when the bust was finished, it did not please him. 'It is no good,' he said; 'I am far more unhappy than that.' The Magician Breaks His Staff https://antalszerb.com/essay/magician-breaks-his-staff/ https://antalszerb.com/essay/magician-breaks-his-staff/ Tue, 30 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT Perhaps in Shakespeare's soul, too, the sober and thrifty burgher always lay hidden, who, having walked the whole round of human passion in his dramas, came to anchor at last where Voltaire's Candide did: we must cultivate our gardens. Books and Youth: An Elegy https://antalszerb.com/essay/books-and-youth/ https://antalszerb.com/essay/books-and-youth/ Mon, 01 Jun 2026 09:00:00 GMT Of youth one ought to say with a sigh: 'O, to read Baudelaire once more as I did at eighteen!' It meant more than first love.