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An Outlet to the Adriatic: James Bond in the Batschka


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#1 MkB

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Posted 11 April 2009 - 01:11 AM

I've stumbled upon this strange piece of information: a Hungarian novel published in 2005 by Ildikó Lovas, is entitled Kijárat az Adriára: James Bond Bácskában, which apparently translates as "An Outlet to the Adriatic: James Bond in the Batschka" (the Batschka being a part of the Balkans).
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It has recently been translated in German, with a somehow more "Bond-ish" cover artwork:
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Here is a description in Hungarian:
„A nevem Bond. James Bond.” Mondta a kém. És fejest ugrott a tengerbe.

„Az viszont biztos, hogy amíg a jugoszláv nép fegyvert és paripát követelt, és versekkel fenyegette a nagyhatalmakat, Bond a főmérnökkel kávézgatott a kikötő fölött. Megismerkedtek, összebarátkoztak, a kémnek az ilyesmi nem jelentett gondot, a főmérnök meg beszélgetni vágyott. Mariáról akart beszélni, akinek forró melle-öle úgy nyomta a lelkét, mint Dózsa Györgyünk fejét a tüzes korona. Mert a főmérnök is elvi ember volt. Tehát mindent bevallott a feleségének, s így sikerült két kő közé keverednie, hogy a végén felfalják a disznók. Éppen azt mesélte Bondnak – miközben a határ túloldalán a jugoszláv kommunisták fenyegettek a vasökleikkel –, hogy mit állapított meg a felesége” – olvashatjuk a Sziveri-díjas Lovas Ildikó új regényében.

De, joggal kérdezheti az olvasó, hogyan kerül ide James Bond, a híres 007-es ügynök? Kik vagy mi után kémkedik itt, a németek által „túlfűtött gőzkazánnak” nevezett Szerbiában és később is, a titói Jugoszláviában?
Elképzelhető-e, hogy másképpen alakult volna a II. világháború, ha az angolok nem mellőzik titkos jelentéseit? Miért az a meggyőződése James Bondnak, hogy a kommunistáknak azért kell bukniuk, mert nem tudnak bánni a nőkkel? Vagy ez már a Kijárat az Adriára című regény női elbeszélőjének véleménye, aki a kilencvenes évek háborús Jugoszláviájában folytatja a nyomozást? Egyáltalán, mi köze van James Bondhoz, és miért nevezi önmagát is nyomozónak? Miért nem érdeklik a nagy dolgok, miért csak a jelentéktelennek látszó apróságok után kutat? És miért beszél a háborús évek tragikus tapasztalatairól a humor, az irónia és kalandregények nyelvén?

Nos, e kérdésekre a regény minden olvasója maga találhat választ. Annyi talán megelőlegezhető, hogy a könyvben nagyszerűen ötvöződik a dokumentum és fikció, Bácska és Adria, a személyes és Bond – nem más ez, mint feszes rövidtávfutás az idők között.


And this is a description in German:
"Der ungarischsprachige Schriftsteller in der Vojvodina unterscheidet sich von einem Schriftsteller in Ungarn dadurch, dass er ein Meer hat", schrieb der Essayist und Dichter Ottó Tolnai noch in den 80er Jahren. Nun wurde in Christina Kunzes Übersetzung Ildikó Lovas' Roman Zugang zur Adria - James Bond in der Batschka vom Balassi-Bálint-Institut herausgebraucht.

James Bond alias Dusan Popov als Doppelagent im Zweiten Weltkrieg, zwischen Deutschland und England lavierend, stellt mit seiner abwechselnden Schlampigkeit und Fleißigkeit das Ebenbild der Erzählerin dar, die sich im historischen Kontext als eine etwas verunsicherte Revolutionärin zu behaupten sucht. Die historische Rollen exerzierende Erzählerin wechselt zwischen Schuld und Freispruch, mit dem Ausklang: "Wir können uns nicht vortäuschen, dass das, womit wir groß geworden sind, in Ordnung gewesen wäre.“


From what I understand, this novel would feature James Bond as a doube agent in the Balkans during WWII. If this is true, this would be the "war Bond" novel some have been longing for for so long, but an unofficial one B)
Though, I am not sure whether or not this is a Bond novel and to which extent. This novel seems to be clearly on the literary side more than the fanfiction one, since there have been a couple of articles about it in literary journals (all of them in Hungarian, unfortunately for me).

So, would a Hungarian or German-speaking member be so kind as to tell us more about this mysterious book? :tdown:

#2 Blofeld's Cat

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Posted 11 April 2009 - 01:24 AM

This is a translation of the German text by Google....

The Hungarian writer in Vojvodina is different from a writer in Hungary by the fact that he has an ocean, "wrote the essayist and poet Ottó Tolnai still in the 80s. Now was Christina Kunze translation Ildikó Lovas' novel access to the Adriatic Sea - James Bond in the Batschka of Balassi Bálint Institute-out needed.

James Bond aka Dusan Popov as a double agent during World War II between Germany and England lavierend, is alternating with his slovenliness and industrious the image of the Narrator, which in the historical context as a somewhat insecure revolutionary seeks to assert. The historical roles exerzierende narrator alternates between guilt and acquittal, with the finale: "We can not pretend that what we are grown, would have been okay.


And this is the translation from Hungarian...

The name's Bond. James Bond. "Said the spy. And jumped headlong into the sea.

On the other hand, that the people of Yugoslavia as long as the weapons and horse, property, and threatened the verses nagyhatalmakat, the Bond főmérnökkel kávézgatott over the port. Became familiar, friendly, not like the kémnek the reported problem, the lead engineer wanted to talk about it. Mary tried to speak, whose breasts-hot Ole has pushed his soul, as Dózsa György his crown of fire. It is also the lead engineer was a man of principle. So, all declared to his wife, and thus managed to include two stone keverednie to devour at the end of the pigs. It is said that Bond - while across the border by the Yugoslav Communists threatened to vasökleikkel - what with the wife "- read the new Ildikó Lovas Sziveri-winning novel.

But, the reader will rightly ask how they will be here to see James Bond, the famous 007-Agent? Who or what is after the spy, the Germans as "exalted steam" and later known as Serbia, Yugoslavia, the secret?
It is possible that otherwise would have been established in Annex II. World War, when the English shall waive non-secret reports? Why James Bond is convinced that the communists should be bukniuk, because they can not handle a woman? Or this is the exit to the Adriatic elbeszélőjének opinion on the novel's women, who in the nineties, a war Jugoszláviájában continue the investigation? It's what to do with James Bond, and why it is called self-investigation? Why do not you be interested in the big things, why things appear to be significant only after the wells? And why speak of the war years, the tragic experience of humor, adventure story and the language of irony?

Well, this novel is all the questions a reader can find a reply. It may make advances, perhaps, a great book that combines the document and fiction, and Bačka Adriatic, the personal and Bond - is that, as a tight sprint between the periods.



#3 MkB

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Posted 11 April 2009 - 01:37 AM

Thanks! But I always find Google's translations a tad... weird! B)

What intrigues me particularly is that it seems to be a well reviewed literary novel of its own (maybe even a prize-winning one), not a cheap knock off of a Bond novel (what one could fear from the covers, particularly the German one). It has already been studied in several papers of scholarly conferences or journals. Not exactly the place you'd expect to see the James Bond character pop in! :tdown:

#4 clinkeroo

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Posted 11 April 2009 - 06:00 AM

Having a hard time finding the German edition through the normal channels. Sounds interesting, worth reading and adding to the collection. She appears to be a serious writer, but the Balassi Institute is most likely responsible for the translation, being the big exporter of Hungarian culture, but if they published the German edition, it is going to be a pain in the butt to find. ISBN anyone?

#5 stromberg

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Posted 11 April 2009 - 11:48 AM

The German text is a lot of humbug saying almost nothing at all on the novel. Basically, it is as informative as the Google translation B).

As clinkeroo said, even the German edition seems to be very hard to find. In any event, it should have an ISBN, but I couldn't find it anywhere via regular sources. Lucky me, I've got other sources than the regular ones, but I can get results only after the Easter holidays. Will see what I can find out...

On the book itself, it looks like this is not a book on James Bond, but a book on a James Bond like figure (with the Bond name attached to it most likely to create some attention): English/German double agent Dusan Popov, who really lived. Not certain if this is more like a real biography, or more a romanticised version of his adventures or whatever.

The Bond connection, however, seems to exist, according to this article:
The Story of Dusan Popov

He may have been the prototype for Ian Fleming's character,
James Bond, and if the former director of the FBI J. Edgar
Hoover had listened to him, the disaster at Pearl Harbor
might have been avoided. Dusan Popov was a Yugoslav playboy
who became a double agent. His German code name was Ivan,
and his British Tricycle.

Popov came across legendary writer Ian Fleming while working
for British intelligence. Fleming was following Popov at the
time and watched him embarrass a very wealthy and loud
adversary at the Casino. Fleming was taken by this bold
Yugoslav and introduced himself to Popov after the game. Popov
went on to do various tasks for the British and was sent to
the USA in 1941 to set up a spy ring for the Germans. The
British saw the possibilities of controlling German
intelligence as they had in Europe through Popov.

Dusan was carrying a coded message from Abwehr, which carried
a request from the Japanese government asking specific
questions about the U.S. navel installation at Pearl Harbor.
J.C. Masterman, chief of the British XX (Double Cross) system,
felt the Germans were planning to attack the Americans at
Pearl Harbor urged Popov to pass along this information
to the Americans. Popov checked into the Plaza Hotel in New
York, not knowing that the FBI had followed him, and then
set up a meeting with J. Edgar Hoover. Hoover disregarded his
dispatch and immediately began to berate Popov about his
playboy ways.

Popov tried to explain that he was a double agent and that
the Germans expected him to live this lavish lifestyle.
Hoover would have none of this and dismissed Popov.
When Popov heard about the attack by the Japanese he was
sure that it had been repelled. To Popov surprise the
American fleet laid in ruins. Dusan now moved in a penthouse
on Park Avenue and Sixty-third Street, and began to renew
his affair with French actress Simone Simon. Hoover later
threatened to charge him with violating the Mann Act and
nearly cost him his cover.

Popov returned to Europe in 1942 his mission to the U.S.
a failure, but his days as a spy continued. He helped
set up a network of double agents whose deceptive tactics
were instrumental in getting the Germans to believe that the
allied invasion of Europe would come at Calais. On June 7th,
1944 the invasion did come at Normandy fooling the Germans.
Hitler wasted precious time believing that the main thrust
was still to come at Calais and the allies bought enough
time to establish a beachhead in France. Was Popov Bond,
probably not, Fleming had many influences but this suave
spy certainly was one of the many characters that influenced
him. Hoover for his part consolidated his power during the
war and when it was through used that power to provide
information for the reactionary forces that would attack the
New Deal under the guise of anti-communism.

Source: http://www.spring.ne.../read/history/6

#6 MkB

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Posted 11 April 2009 - 12:52 PM

I've managed to find the Hungarian ISBN: 9788071497479
But the one of the German translation still resists... I'll keep you posted! :tdown:

About the book, my (very vague) understanding is that it is a story about a double agent in the Balkas during WWII, who apparently seems to be named James Bond more than only in the title (I mean it's not just a tag line, the James Bond character seems to appear in the novel: I infer that from the Hungarian scholarly articles about the novel, in some of which the "James Bond" name reappears a significant number of times). The author seems to use this as a metaphor of a contemporary situation in the Balkans, specially a parallel between being a double agent and questions of identity in the Balkans (which sounds like a nifty idea, if well done).
I'd be really curious to read that! Too bad my German is not good enough, and my hungarian practically inexistant B) I hope there'll be an English translation at some point.


EDIT: actually, I wonder if the author doesn't consider that James Bond and Dusan Popov were the same person (one name being an alias for the other during this double agent mission). I may very well be mistaken though.

#7 MkB

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Posted 11 April 2009 - 01:19 PM

GOT IT! B)

Lovas Ildikó (1967-)
Zugang zur Adria : James Bond in der Batschka / Ildikó Lovas ; [aus dem Ungarischen von Christina Kunze] ; [publ.] Balassi Institut. - Budapest : Balassi Inst., 2008. - 246 p. ; 20 cm
ISBN 978-963-87210-8-2

It seems that at the moment only the Hungrian National Library has a copy, I haven't found it in any of the main German or Austrian libraries. It may be because this German translation was published in Hungary. Also since the date of publication of the translation is recent, it is possible that German / Austrian libraries will soon have some copies.