Barcode by Krisztina Tóth

Praise for Barcode:
 
'The ease and confidence with which Toth transforms the basis of her stories marks her as an exceptional writer'. - Declan O'Driscoll in The Irish Times
 
'... adept at conjuring atmosphere from small details' Michael Delgado in the i-newspaper, The Independent.
 
 
 
Published on 31 March 2023 but available for pre-order from Jantar.
 
Krisztina Tóth's first substantial work in prose after four volumes of remarkable verse, consists of fifteen beautifully written and highly sensual short stories. Most are narrated with poetic intensity and intimacy from a young, unnamed female narrator's point of view. Whether about childhood acquaintances, school camps and trips, or love and deceit in love, they are all are set against the backdrop of Hungary's socialist era in its declining years. The stories are carefully strung, like jewels in a necklace, along metaphorical 'lines', as in the title of the collection and the subtitle of the pieces. The losses, disappointments, and tragedies great and small recounted here offer nuanced ‘mirrorings’ of the female soul and linger long in the memory.