Ágota Kristóf
Grove Press
17 November 2026
416
eBook - PDF
Historical Fiction
ARC via NetGalley
Claus and Lucas are twins. Their new life begins when they are left with their grandmother, the ‘Witch’, in a village in an occupied country. It’s wartime. All their actions are based on survival. They create an exercise regime to toughen up, and record the results in a notebook. Their angelic looks are deceiving. They are implacable, dangerously ethical; their code of life demands that they help a deserter, or blackmail a priest, or come to the aid of a prostitute, or assist in a suicide. What motivates them is a deeply embedded morality of absolute need.
The trilogy—The Notebook (1986), The Proof (1988), and The Third Lie (1991)—follows their stories from the Second World War, through the years of communism and into a fractured Europe. In what could be seen as an allegory of post-war Europe, Claus and Lucas, locked in a tortuous bond, become separated and are isolated in different countries. They yearn to be connected again, but perspectives shift, memories diverge, identity becomes unstable.
Written in Kristof ’s spare, direct prose, The Notebook Trilogy is an exploration of the aftereffects of trauma and of the nature of storytelling. The novels explore truth and lies, shaped by a breathtaking artistic vision that is shocking, fascinating and utterly memorable.
The Notebook Trilogy is hard for me to rate and discuss because, even now, several days after finishing it, I am still trying to decipher what I read and how I feel about it. The first book definitely captured my interest. I enjoyed the sparse, dual-as-one narration and was invested in Claus and Lucas and their way of looking at the world which was at times innocent and at times a little sinister. I was keen to learn how things would work out for them. However, book two was very different, both in terms of narration style and the questions it cast over what had come before. I found it harder to stay motivated reading the story in this second part, my attention and interest constantly drifting. What the author was doing was fascinating on a craft level, but as a reader it lost me a bit. Book three tied things back together in some ways. I still wasn't as drawn in as I had been with book one, but some of my interest was recaptured as I began to question what was real and what was a lie from the earlier volumes. However, I turned the final page with more relief than anything, as getting to the end had felt like a bit of a slog at times. Kristóf is certainly a writer with a vision and I could absolutely appreciate the artistry behind the trilogy. Sadly, though, that was only from the perspective of a fellow writer, whereas reader-me could only say they fully enjoyed book one of the collection. That's not to say this is a bad work; it simply wasn't a 100% fit for me. I would recommend it to those who like a more experimental side of modern fiction. I am giving it 3.5 stars.
I received this book as a free eBook ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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