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The Xenophobe's Guide to the Hungarians by Miklós Vámos and Mátyás Sárközi A guide to understanding the Hungarians that explores their underlying
character traits and idiosyncracies.
| Two plus two equals five |
| Although they hate to criticise themselves, Hungarians are well
aware of their faults, one of which is that they never see eye to eye: if there
are four Hungarians in a room, they will belong to five different political parties. |
| Gloom and doom | | With Hungarians, pessimism is a state of mind. They are happy to cultivate
this gloomy view: as they put it, 'An optimist is a person who is poorly informed'.
Hungarians are realists: in their folk-tales they live happily 'until they die',
not happily 'ever after'. |
| Divorce Hungarian style |
| Statistics show that Hungarians divorce more than they marry. On an average
day, 300 Hungarians marry, and, at the same time, 100 divorce (hopefully not from
the 300 who marry). Zsa Zsa Gabor accounts for at least eight. She was once asked
whether she was a good housekeeper. 'Yes, dahling,' she said, 'Very good. Every
time I divorce I keep the house.' |
| Talent will out | | Hungarian emigrants are very proud of their small native land and of
what they themselves have achieved. There was a period in Hollywood when a sign
on film studio doors read: 'It's not enough to be Hungarian, you also have to
have some talent.' |
| The
Hungarians are a fascinating people. They have little common ancestry with most
other Europeans (their closest relatives are the Finns) and their sense of being
different has no doubt been strengthened both by their country's distinguished
history and by its more recent experience of being fought over by others. The
book gives an insightful and interesting account of what makes them tick. |
| United Kingdom
|
| The
publisher would welcome readers comments on this title. |
| |
| A brief
pen portrait of a nation and its people and even the odd humorous dig at their
subject without being politically incorrect. |
| Lancashire Evening Telegraph |
|
Short, aphoristic, seriously funny, not that xenophobic and almost entirely apt
guide, perfect homework for the fortunate on ferry or plane. |
| The Observer |
Nationalism
and Identity
Character
Attitudes and Values
Happy Families
Manners
and Behaviour
Leisure and Pleasure
Drinking and Eating
Custom and
Tradition
Sense of Humour
Culture
Systems
Culture
Systems
Business and Commerce
Government
Language | |
| 
| Author:Miklós
Vámos and Mátyás Sárközi |
| Format:
64
pages, pb | | Published:
01/04/99 | | OUT
OF STOCK | | Price:
£3.99 | | ISBN-10
& ISBN-13: 1-902825-31-4 | |
