Featured Interview With Zita Muranyi
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I grew up in Budapest, the capital of Hungary. So I am a city girl, but now I live in Ráckeve, a small village-like town. A few houses away flows the Danube, full of wild ducks and swans. It is a very quiet and calming environment. It’s an excellent background for creative work. I have lots of kittens, many of them adopted.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I have loved books since I was a little girl. My father worked in a printing house and used to bring books home in pairs. I wrote my first poem about Santa Claus when I was 7 or 8 years old, which my teacher read to the class. I got loud applause, so I quickly wrote another one. Then I returned to writing poems at 14. At the age of 21, a small publisher published my first novel, for which I won a prize in my country. My first novel, entitled Mirrorpalace (Tükörpalota) was published in 2003, and I received the Sandor Bródy Prize in 2004. They awarded this prize to the best debut authors. I had three books of poems and three novels published in Hungarian. My recent book is my first novel in English.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I love Paul Auster, Virginia Woolf, Jane Austen, in whose honour I wrote my first novel in English. I love philosophical writing, like Kundera, for example. But also Bukowski’s raw and outspoken style and the fact that he writes in a very readable way. I prefer works of literary fiction. I would mention classics like Bulgakov, and among the contemporaries I might mention Zadie Smith, or the Nobel Prize winner Doris Lessing.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
My latest book On Mr. Darcy’s sofa is a compelling novel about love, loss, and heartbreak. Covering a range of delicate topics from death to infertility, the reader is taken on an emotive journey following a range of well-developed and interesting characters as they navigate their way through life’s ups and downs.
There are elements of humor that work well alongside the hard-hitting narrative and the references and comparisons to Jane Austen and Mr. Darcy .
My first english novel is an intriguing women’s fiction novel set in Hungary, which is informed by own experiences. With many parallels drawn between beloved Austen characters in the present day, I hope fans of Austen will enjoy reading another novel inspired by her romances.
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