To Err Is Divine

By Ágota Bozai

First published in Hungarian in 1998, this novel is a stunning portrait of a world disposed to depravity in the pursuit of wealth.

With To Err Is Divine, Hungarian writer Agota Bozai has fashioned a keen reflection on the overpowering excesses of human greed. Anna Levay, a widow and secondary-school teacher in a small resort city in Lake Balaton, is close to retirement. One evening, after her bath, Anna discovers a strange light floating about her head. It is a halo, like that of a saint. Anna is not a particularly good person and is, in fact, an atheist. She sets about trying to conceal her halo, but realises that only the truly innocent, small children and animals, can see it. But the concurrent power to heal and produce miracles are visible to a less exclusive audience, and once the greedy mayor and physician of the town discover Anna's new gifts, they set about using her to their advantage. They build a luxury health resort and line their pockets. Written as surveillance reports from heaven, the eleven chapters recount the event surrounding the (as it turns out) mistakenly bestowed halo in this richly ironic tale.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1582432775
• ISBN13: 9781582432779
• Release Date: June 2004
• Publisher: Counterpoint LLC
• Length: 244 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.7" x 8.7"

Customer Reviews

Quirky

Unfortunately, I didn't have time to read this in long stretches so I think I missed a few things, but I thought the premise was interesting and original, and came off well even in translation. It is not an "active" book; be prepared for a slow, detailed, read. It reminded me in some ways of Ibsen's play "An Enemy of the People". I will probably read it again when I have more time.

The least likely saint

Anna Levay is a quiet person. You might not even notice her if you passed her on the street. She's heavy-ish and sixty-ish, a widowed schoolteacher with a cordially estranged son. She's the terror of her classroom, but a fond memory to two (going on three) generations of students. She's one of the little people in a pervasively corrupt village where only the big people do more than scrape by. Like everyone else in her world she muddles by well enough, just hoping not to attract attention from anyone important. And, quite abruptly, she's a saint or something like it. That embarassing halo was her first clue. It wouldn't go away, but at least no one else seemed to notice. Then the miracles started piling up unintentionally, including mysterious behaviors of animals when she came near, magical (and overly personal) growth of her plants, water into wine (not the done thing in a school environment), and miracle cures. But Anna is a sensible woman with little time for miracles, and a vague wish that they'd just go away. Sensibly, she seeks out a doctor to see if her sainthood can be cured - not that she's so explicit about a state that she barely believe in herself. The doctor, however, is one of the town's venal in-crowd, and quickly realizes the commercial potential of her miraculous cures. Agota Bozai's story is a gentle stroll through the life of this ordinary woman as extraordinary things start to happen around her. She's honest, unassuming, and easy to like. As a result, she make the perfect counter to the petty power trading, embezzling, and scamming so rampant in the post-Soviet world. It's not a satire, so much as a wry look business-as-usual when something and someone very unusual appear among them. The right reader will find a lot to like in this little book. //wiredweird

Hungarian Fantasy Realism, with Religious Overtones!

While taking a bath, a 59 year old school widowed teacher, notices a peculiar golden aura around her head, and at first tries to hide this halo..Eventually, she realizes that hardly anyone notices it. While wandering the beach, thousands of fish flock to the beach for a real fisherman's holiday. But the hotel/tourist industry, and local politicians investigate this very strange occurence. Even strange things also happen in the local church, and the priest is not sure whether a miracle really happens or not. Finally, a doctor notices her very unique powers, and the powers that be open a posh and expensive medical/ health center. The rest is a fun page turner with many bizarre turns, a mix of pointilistic realism, and the possible supernatural. Very enjoyble way to spend a few hours!