When I Was Better

by Rita Bozi

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Pub Date 19 Jun 2022 | Archive Date 28 Aug 2022

Atmosphere Press

Historical Fiction

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Description

Both dark and humorous, the novel's title is taken from a Hungarian saying, "When I was better, I didn't brag." When I Was Better, set in Hungary and Canada, chronicles the twenty-year relationship of István and Teréza, from the Nazi invasion, the Soviet occupation and the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 to their reunion in Winnipeg in 1964.

On the cold, winter day István leaves his wife and infant son in western Hungary, Soviet tanks have crushed the Revolution and the spirit of the people. He is of the last of two hundred thousand refugees fleeing to Austria. His wife Teréza, traumatized by the war and violence of the occupation, is left to fend for herself and her baby after an act of desperation forces her husband to abandon his young family and choose self-preservation over duty.

Battered by private betrayals and public humiliations, the young couple learns that laughing at the absurd is a saving grace until a seven-year separation tests their endurance and their love. Moving between Budapest and Winnipeg, the novel explores the moral dilemmas that leave a legacy of secrecy, shame, isolation and relational ruptures. It shows how an autocracy corrupts its citizens by reviling truth and making survival with dignity a transgressive act. It is a moving chronicle of a refugee crisis from a different time.

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A Note From the Publisher

Raised by Hungarian refugees, Rita is a Somatic Relational trauma and psychedelic-informed therapist, a multi-disciplinary creator, playwright and retired professional actor and dancer. For 25 years, her co-written play 52 Pick Up was staged in Canada, the US, England, Australia, France, Iceland and New Zealand and translated into French and Icelandic. Rita has been published in The New Quarterly, FFWD Weekly, WritingRaw.com, Unlikely 2.0 and Pages of Stories. THIS Magazine awarded her 3rd prize in their Great Canadian Literary Hunt in 2012. Her travel stories have been broadcast on CBC Radio Calgary. She is an alumna of The Humber School for Writers. Her life practice is kindness and her life partner is Ken Cameron.

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Advance Praise

"With sharp insight and the gifts of a natural, Bozi's novel brilliantly chronicles the plight of an entire generation of Hungarians through the intimate portrait of two lovers tested by the political and personal betrayals that ripped through the heart of the twentieth century."

-Dennis Bock, author of The Ash Garden

"When I Was Better is a masterfully written historical novel - a coming-of-age story filled with troubled love, totalitarianism and war. The story is rich, intriguing and the characters are very much flesh and blood. Reading it deepens our understanding of oppression, freedom and what turns ordinary people into refugees; a reality we must begin to comprehend on a personal level. History is not just history; this novel allows us an intimate view from a generational context. We need this book."

-Guðrún Eva Mínervudóttir, author of The Creator

"When I Was Better is a tribute to the resiliency of the human spirit, of the indistinguishable light of hope in the darkest of times. Tragic but inspiring, ugly yet beautiful. I could not put it down and did not want it to end."

-Lorinda Stewart, author of One Day Closer

"When I Was Better is a remarkable achievement, very engaging, warm and exciting. It lets us in on all of the sadnesses and glories of such times and leaves us hoping that the best in us will survive and prevail."

-Joseph Kertes, author of Last Impressions

"A historical epic that follows the lives of a small family of three up against some of the biggest, most destructive events in Eastern Europe's history...for those who enjoy literary fiction with an authentic representation of the period."

-Readers' Favorite

"Set against the backdrop of a world enveloped in the chaos of political unrest, Bozi’s debut is a riveting, complex tale of one couple’s journey of love and endurance...Meticulously researched and brilliantly executed, this is a stunner."

-BookView Reviews

"Historical fiction readers are in for a treat with When I Was Better, a love story set in Hungary and Canada which follows the journey of István and Teréza, who flee the Nazi and Soviet invasions and the Hungarian Revolution to finally make their home in Winnipeg in the 1960s."

-D. Donovan, Sr. Reviewer, Midwest Book Review

"With sharp insight and the gifts of a natural, Bozi's novel brilliantly chronicles the plight of an entire generation of Hungarians through the intimate portrait of two lovers tested by the...

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