Summary

A sketch by Leonardo DaVinci has been stolen from a museum in Budapest, Hungary. The Home Secretary doesn’t want the theft to be publicized because he knows the opposition will hold it against him. The Museum Director received his job at the museum by pulling powerful strings to replace the previous director, and he is not qualified for the position, so he also isn’t anxious for publicity.  While the police and border guards are informed, and the museum staff are aware, the situation is largely hushed up so that the public has no clue of what is happening.

In Sicily, the great Hungarian opera composer, Tibor Vida, is trying to overcome a recent romantic betrayal and create his next great work. He meets a lovely Hungarian woman, a journalist, with whom he quickly becomes infatuated. She convinces him to buy a lovely old sketch at a local auction. Suddenly, they find themselves pursued by dangerous individuals through the Italian countryside.

Part romantic-comedy and part adventure, this light hearted story is set sometime between the World Wars.

My Thoughts

This book was first published in 1949 by the renowned Hungarian author, Miklos Banffy. This is the first time it has been translated into English. In Hungarian, it was published with the title Milolu, which is the nickname Tibor Vida gave to his lover, Milla Anderson.

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I picked it up, but from the first page I was hooked. It is much funnier than I had anticipated it would be, and the writing style is very accessible. I confess I was expecting a somewhat heavier story, not something so playful. There were some not so subtle digs at politicians and those who abuse their power, but that wasn’t the focus. 

At the heart of the story was the rather remarkable Mrs. Milla Anderson, a divorced woman working for the newspaper in Budapest. She is bright, independent, intuitive, patient, quick-thinking, and courageous. Tibor Vida, though a gifted musician, is ultimately rather dim-witted. The romance between the two is absurd, and because much of the story is told from Tibor’s point of view through his diary, it adds a great deal to the comedy.  

My Rating 4/5

About the Author

Miklos Banffy (1873-1950) is still considered one of Hungary’s greatest novelists. He was born into the nobility, and his family one of the largest landholders in Transylvania at a time when it was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. After studying art, law, and mathematics in university, Banffy became a politician. At one point he was the head of the State Theaters and Opera Houses. Banffy was considered a liberal radical in his time.