When I Was Better
by Rita Bozi
GENRE: Historical Fiction
PUBLICATION DATE: 06/19/2022
DESCRIPTION:
Both dark and humorous, the novel’s title is taken from a Hungarian saying, “When I was better, I didn’t brag.” When I Was Better, set in Hungary and Canada, chronicles the twenty-year relationship of István and Teréza, from the Nazi invasion, the Soviet occupation and the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 to their reunion in Winnipeg in 1964.
On the cold, winter day István leaves his wife and infant son in western Hungary, Soviet tanks have crushed the Revolution and the spirit of the people. He is of the last of two hundred thousand refugees fleeing to Austria. His wife Etelka, traumatized by the war and violence of the occupation, is left to fend for herself and her baby after an act of desperation forces her husband to abandon his young family and choose self-preservation over duty.
Battered by private betrayals and public humiliations, the young couple learns that laughing at the absurd is a saving grace until a seven-year separation tests their endurance and their love.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Raised by Hungarian refugees, Rita is a Somatic Relational trauma and psychedelic-informed Facilitator, author, podcast host, a multidisciplinary creator, playwright and retired professional actor and dancer. For 25 years, her co-written play 52 Pick Up was staged in Canada, the US, England, Australia, France, Iceland and New Zealand and translated into French and Icelandic. Rita has been published in The New Quarterly, FFWD Weekly, WritingRaw.com, and Unlikely 2.0. THIS Magazine awarded her 3rd Prize in their Great Canadian Literary Hunt in 2012. Her travel stories have been broadcast on CBC Radio Calgary. She is an Alumna of The Humber School for Writers and a graduate of The National Ballet School. Her life practice is kindness and her life partner is Ken Cameron.
REVIEWS:
* Named a FInalist for the Goethe Chanticleer International Book Awards
"Rita Bozi’s ability to capture not just the history and milieu of the times, but the life and passions of those who live it is a sterling example of what sets an extraordinary read apart from a mundane narration of circumstance and history...few other books about immigrant experience hold the
descriptive power of When I Was Better." Midwest Book Review
"There is phenomenal emotion that bleeds across the pages...It’s difficult to produce enough adjectives to describe the exceptional body of work Rita Bozi has produced in this stellar novel. Her scene set up and character description is off the charts."
-Feathered Quill Book Reviews
"The narrative remains gripping, and the realistic, utterly convincing characters immediately draw the reader into their problem. Meticulously researched and brilliantly executed, this is a stunner." BookView Review
COMPARATIVE FILM/BOOK:
Purge by Sofi Oksanen and Finnish drama film directed by Antti Jokinen, based on the novel by Sofi Oksanen
CASTING:
Teréza - Jodie Comer or Natasha Stork; István - Rami Malek or Péter Puskás; Pista - Sebastian Stan
PRIMARY VENUES/LOCATIONS WITHIN THE BOOK:
Budapest, Western Hungary, Winnipeg
BOOK EXCERPT:
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