Another Love

This detective story by Hungarian novelist Galgoczi (who died in 1989) is an effective, finely balanced blend of entertainment and political commentary. Eva Szalanczky, a journalist in her late 20s, is shot and killed in 1959 p. 11 as she attempts an illegal crossing from Hungary to Yugoslavia. When Eva's body is brought in, First Lieutenant Marosi knows her immediately: he loved her back when they were students. Marosi wonders why Eva chose an ultimately fatal course: had she genuinely wanted to defect, Marosi, who's on the border forces, could have gotten her out, or she could have left during the country's 1956 rebellion. Determined to know the truth, Marosi requests leave and heads for Budapest. By talking with her friends and acquaintances there (those who haven't defected or been imprisoned or executed) and uncovering clues in some personal notes, Marosi begins to piece together a fuller, more complex image of Eva: a talented journalist, ally of the downtrodden, uncompromising critic of the government and the Communist Party, a thoroughly charming but equally annoying friend and a woman struggling with her lesbianism. (Jan.)