I Kiss Your Hands Many Times

"I Kiss Your Hands Many Times: Hearts, Souls, and Wars in Hungary" by Marianne Szegedy-Maszák is a sweeping work of family history that traces the lives of her grandparents and parents against the turbulent backdrop of twentieth-century Hungary. Drawing on an extensive trove of letters, diaries, and personal documents, the author reconstructs a story that spans the last decades of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the horrors of the Second World War, and the grim decades of Communist rule that followed. The result is a book that functions simultaneously as intimate memoir and as a broader meditation on how ordinary and privileged lives alike were reshaped by the political convulsions of the era.

At the center of the narrative are Szegedy-Maszák's maternal grandparents, Hanna and Antal Pallavicini, members of the Hungarian aristocracy, and her paternal grandfather, Aladár Szegedy-Maszák, a diplomat who served in Hungary's foreign ministry. Through their correspondence, the author illuminates a world of elegance and privilege that existed before the devastation of war stripped it away. The letters between family members, many of them written during periods of separation caused by war, imprisonment, or exile, provide a remarkably textured view of daily life, emotional bonds, and the anxieties that accompanied political upheaval. The title of the book itself is drawn from the closing phrase of many of these letters, a gesture of tenderness that recurs throughout the correspondence and underscores the emotional intimacy at the heart of the narrative.

The book does not shy away from the darker chapters of Hungarian history. The rise of fascism, the Nazi occupation, the deportation of Hungarian Jews, and the subsequent Soviet domination all receive careful attention. Szegedy-Maszák's family was directly affected by these events: some members were imprisoned, others fled the country, and the family's properties and way of life were irrevocably altered by the political transformations of the mid-century. The author's father, Aladár Szegedy-Maszák, played a significant role in Hungarian diplomatic circles and later became Hungary's ambassador to the United States, a position that placed him at the crossroads of some of the most consequential geopolitical developments of the postwar period. His personal history, interwoven with that of his wife's family, provides the narrative spine around which the larger historical events are organized.

One of the notable strengths of this book is its reliance on primary source material. The author had access to a substantial archive of family correspondence, which lends the narrative a sense of immediacy and authenticity that purely secondary historical accounts often lack. Readers are given direct access to the voices of those who lived through these events, rather than relying solely on the author's interpretation or reconstruction. This approach allows for a nuanced portrayal of how individuals navigated extraordinary circumstances, balancing personal relationships, professional obligations, and the ever-present threat of political violence.

The book also succeeds in situating this family narrative within the broader sweep of European history. Hungary's position between East and West, its shifting alliances during the war, and its eventual absorption into the Soviet sphere of influence are all rendered with clarity. The author manages to convey complex historical developments without overwhelming the reader with excessive detail, maintaining a narrative pace that keeps the focus on the human experiences at the center of the story.

Some readers may find that the sheer scope of the family's connections and the number of individuals introduced throughout the narrative can occasionally make it challenging to keep track of all the relationships and their respective historical contexts. The book assumes a degree of patience from its audience, as the layered structure moves between different time periods and generations. However, this complexity also reflects the genuine intricacy of the family's history and the era it depicts.

Overall, "I Kiss Your Hands Many Times" offers a valuable contribution to the literature on twentieth-century Hungary and Central European history more broadly. It combines rigorous historical research with a deeply personal narrative voice, resulting in a book that will appeal to readers interested in family memoirs, European history, and the enduring human capacity to maintain love and connection amid political chaos.