‘Writer's Table’ set in memory of Hungarian writer Ágota Kristóf

ISTANBUL

The Literature and Gastronomy meetings, organized by the Hungarian Cultural Center and Minoa Bookstore, continue tonight in memory of Hungarian writer Ágota Kristóf, who fascinated with her simple and realistic narrative, the world she created and her literary language.

The event, called "A Writer's Table," will be organized at Lokanta in Minoa Pera in Istanbul’s Tepebaşı.

Ágnes Tóth, the chef of the meetings, has prepared a menu reflecting the versatile face of Hungarian gastronomy. Kristóf's books will be explained with the presentation of Eylül Görmüş, the volunteer ambassador of Hungarian Literature, during the dinner.

Chef Tóth’s special menu, prepared in the footsteps of writer Kristóf, who spent his childhood in the cities of Kőszeg and Zalaegerszeg in Western Hungary, close to the Austrian border, was inspired by the flavors of the region.

The life and works of Ágota Kristóf, who is an immigrant herself and whose books focus on the issue of immigration, will be discussed during this special meeting.

Kristóf was Born in Hungary in 1935. During the suppression of the anti-communist uprising by the Soviet army in 1956, she had to leave Hungary with her politically active husband and baby. Establishing a new life in Neuchatel, Switzerland, Kristof learned French while working in a watch factory.

In the 1970s, Kristóf wrote theater plays and achieved great success with the first book of her trilogy, "The Notebook," published in 1986. The second book of the trilogy, "The Proof," was published in 1988, and "The Third Lie" was published in 1991. This trilogy brought the author recognition and she was awarded many awards. In her books, she described the horrors of war and its impact on people, especially children. Kristóf died in Switzerland in 2011.

Minoa, which was selected as the Bookstore of the Year at the London Book Fair International Excellence Awards 2023, was opened as an independent bookstore and cafe in Istanbul’s Akaretler in 2014. Following its second branch in Nişantaşı, Minoas opened in Maslak and Caddebostan.

The bookstore, which offers its book selection on Minoa.com, opened Minoa Pera in Tepebaşı in 2023.