Sándor Márai
Le Braci

The original title of this text in Hungarian is "A Gyertyák Csonkig Egnek," which translates literally to "The Candles Burn to the Wick"; however, unofficial sources seem to report that in Hungary, it continues to be published for years with minor title modifications against the opinions of the most serious critics.

This book, from a logical-literary standpoint, is well-written. Essentially, excluding the brief phase of presenting the characters as children, where the substantial differences between the modest and poetic Konrad and the future methodical general Henrik are introduced, everything that constitutes the much anticipated final conversation sums up the same nature of the characters after maturing. For Konrad, just a few pages are truly enough, almost words counted, to summarize his life experience, from fleeing his native country to his European return in England. But above all, very few mild lines in conclusion to turn Krisztina's diary to ashes. Conversely, Henrik clearly appears in the grip of a monologue on the verge of rambling (if it were not for his age that moderates his tone, because as he repeatedly says, "too much time has already passed").

All of this might bore and tire many readers, it's understandable, but perhaps not those who read it all in one go. And regarding this, the opinions of the most disappointed can be accepted; but in the end, Henrik's continuous repetition and brooding have their reason: he was missing the substantial confirmation of facts all that time, closing himself off in his rooms, promising "revenge". The presence of so few characters actually leads one to imagine a possible theatrical adaptation of the plot in the form of a monologue, envisioning on stage that little light gradually dimming, already feeble from the start...

The main theme of the text seems to remain the course of an intense three-way friendship despite the marriage between two of these characters, Henrik and Krisztina. It's particularly on the wife's reaction to learning of Konrad's disappearance, calling him a coward to her husband precisely the day after an event that Henrik has clearly interpreted. The fugitive Konrad is often described as a "co-protagonist," but how can he be so underestimated? For his ability to punish himself starting from less than zero, one could define him as a hero unworthy of a badge. What qualities can be found in Henrik instead? It seems clear that he lacks the characteristic of humanity: he is a military man, as his father was, and after too many years, he discovers he is not cut out for true human relationships.

In conclusion, at first and inattentive glance, it may seem there are no significant changes to the concept the text wants to express based on the title; however, I find the formation of two different streams of thought logical. The candles, lit until they go out in the dark of Henrik's castle's gloomy rooms during a night of obsessed monologue, clearly refer to the concept of friendship burned through years of separations and obsessions, lived differently bilaterally, until having an official closure with their extinguishing. Conversely, the embers clearly divert towards the image of the diary burned in moments at the text's conclusion, as if there had never been doubts and the story was just waiting for a clear closure. Two markedly different ways to understand the same concept of friendship. Choose your preferred interpretation.