Not only am I myself interested in the wider world, but also, the wider world is apt to take note when Eastern and Central European writers apply their singular perspective – in the case of Jászberényi, hard-boiled realism or cynicism – to regions of the world that happen to be of broad public interest abroad, such as the Middle East and Africa Ryszard Kapuściński, for example, whose reputation in the United States could not be better. Of course, some Hungarian writers manage to illuminate the human condition even while exploring the Hungarian condition. But with all due respect to those Hungarian writers who focus on the particulars of life in Hungary, I am heartened that he and some others among his compatriots venture into the wider world with their pens. True, he has also been a foreign correspondent far from goings on in Hungary (except when writing acerbic commentaries on goings-on in Hungary). Sure, Jászberényi may be known as much for his writing as he is for speaking his mind. And his pithy, journalism-inspired, relatively reader-friendly (if often unsettling and enigmatic) prose – in stark contrast with the breathtaking convolutions that thrive in much of contemporary Hungarian literature – gives me the impression that it might find an audience beyond the ivory towers of the world, while nonetheless posing challenges to the translator. Translating Jászberényi is, like translating many other Hungarian writers, a profoundly gratifying experience – and that’s because underlying his raucous adventures is the sensitivity and sensibility of a mature literary artist who cares deeply about both his craft and the world.

What's it like translating his raucous adventures? Certainly it must be a change from past projects, as unlike the work of many Hungarian writers, Jászberényi's stories aren't so much set in Central Europe as the Middle East and North Africa. We're excited to know that you're currently working on Sándor Jászberényi's second collection of short stories, The Most Beautiful Night of the Soul, which won the 2017 Libri prize.

Dragoman gyorgy a feher kiraly