Prof launches new book

On Sept. 19, Tamas Dobozy, of Wilfrid Laurier University’s English and film studies department, launched his new book entitled Siege 13.

The book revolves around the siege of Budapest at the end of World War Two, and is a book of short stories that tell the tales of people affected by the siege both in 1944 and the present day.

The launch was held in the Paul Martin Centre and was attended by mostly colleagues, as well as some students of Dobozy.

Passages were read from sections of the stories and a book signing and meet and greet followed the lecture.

The book was also recently shortlisted for the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize. Over 160 books were read, but only five were shortlisted. Among those five was Dobozy’s Seige 13, but the winner has yet to be announced.

“I also got an email from my publicist this morning,” stated Dobozy on the Tuesday after the book launch.

“Chapter’s [bookstore] wants to display the book more prominently, and they want me to write a short essay to be put on the website.”

The book launch helped to showcase the book, and since its release has gained significant notoriety.

Dobozy has family that lives in Hungary, and he too has personally lived there, so many of the stories in the book were linked to his family’s history.

“A history of Budapest has recently been translated to English and published,” continued Dobozy, as he explained that those works also gave inspiration for some of his stories.

He also stated that the silence of people from Budapest regarding the siege intrigued him, and also lead him to pursue work on the matter.

As a result, the book allows a viewpoint into life in 1944 Budapest and is available at the WLU bookstore.