Péter ESTERHÁZY

The author started keeping this diary when his diagnosis confirmed a fatal illness, of which he later died in July 2016. He mixed his observations and reflections with quotes, reading experiences, and even short literary pieces. The resulting mosaic of diverse texts, cheerful and sad, lethargic and lively, full of sharp characteristics of people and events, may be read not only as a report on the progressing disease, but also as a love diary capturing the changing and highly moody relationship of the diary writer and his whimsical mistress, or rather Miss Pancreas. She is a faithful, unforgettable mistress and, because of that, also cruel.

Published by Dybbuk, 2019

Péter Esterházy (1950–2016) was one of the most important Hungarian writers of the 20th century. He came from a prominent Hungarian aristocratic family: his grandfather was a Hungarian prime minister for a short time at the end of the First World War. After studying mathematics, Esterházy worked at the Institute of Mathematics at the Ministry of Heavy Industry until 1978, when he became a professional writer. In his spontaneous postmodern literary style he often works with intertextuality and concentrates on twists and surprises rather than straight narrative lines; among other things, he was influenced by the work of Bohumil Hrabal. He was a big football fan and this passion is reflected in his work. Eight of the author’s books have been translated into Czech so far; the posthumously published autobiographical My Lady Pancreas (Deník se sl. Inivkou) is the last of them.