Lázár - by Nelio Biedermann (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

"Lázár is an exquisite and masterly pronouncement that a gifted young writer walks among us." --Patti Smith

"Virtuosic...riveting...audacious." --The New York Times

An "astonishing...disturbingly dreamlike" (Daniel Kehlmann, The Director) debut, inspired by the author's own family story--a gothic, intergenerational family saga capturing the rise and fall of an aristocratic Hungarian family against the backdrop of the two world wars.

At the turn of the 20th century, the Lázárs welcome their newest member in their rural summer estate, surrounded by a menacingly dark, enchanting forest. Lajos von Lázár is a baby boy with translucent skin and light-blue eyes who looks nothing like the rest of his family. Sándor, the imposing patriarch, is ashamed of his son's peculiarity. Ilona finds her baby brother quite ugly. Mária is terrified that her son's uncanny resemblance to the stagehand who died a couple weeks earlier might spell disaster. While Imre, Sándor's brother whose otherworldly foresight is often confused for insanity, is struck by visions of a great catastrophe.

Lajos's birth is emblematic of the many secrets, affairs, and peculiar otherworldly happenings that plague the Lázárs. As the decades go by, they will continue to fall prey to their desires, leading grand lives, and experiencing even greater tragedies as they're swept by the tides of war and revolution that befall their country. But time and again, in the lighter years, extraordinary love and hope shine through.

Masterfully written and deeply haunting, Lázár is a magisterial novel that presents the sweeping history of a nation through the lives of one extraordinary family.

Review Quotes

"A brilliant book...So beautifully written and so beautifully observed." --Bill Goldstein

"Ambitious...meticulously observant, [Biedermann] can write scenes that seethe with reality." --Becca Rothfeld, The New Yorker

"Sweeping...rich with sensory description, gems of historical detail and surreal twists....Biedermann vividly evokes the atmosphere of a haunted manor at the edge of a sinister forest -- through a narrative that hovers at the edge of realism....Skillful...powerful...thrillingly unburdened by conventional stylistic constraints...virtuosic...riveting...audacious." --Elvia Wilk, The New York Times

"The book's historical scope and occasionally mystical tone...have led readers to compare it not only to Mann and Joseph Roth's Radetzky March but Gabriel García Márquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude." --Thomas Rogers, The New York Times

"The hype is real. Lázár is quickly becoming the breakout novel everyone will be reading this year." --DeAnna Janes, Parade Magazine

"A stunning debut....Heralds the emergence of a new, bold voice in literature....Lázár follows in the footsteps of Thomas Mann and Joseph Roth. It has the magical realism of Gabriel García Márquez, the simultaneously modern and historical voice of Maggie O'Farrell and the gothic, Victorian styles of the Brontë sisters."--Claire LeCates, Tufts Daily

"Compelling....Through its early 20th-century style and attention to historical detail, Lázár distinguishes itself from many contemporary novels by members of Generation Z." --Ryan Alves Rocha, The Dartmouth

"Gothic and fairytale-esque, it's a definite page turner."--Dua Lipa's Service95

"Lázár is an exquisite and masterly pronouncement that a gifted young writer walks among us."--Patti Smith

"Lázár is an astonishing book--a multi-generational family story filled with deeply original characters and gripping scenes, at times realistic, at times disturbingly dreamlike. This novel would be an event in any case. But the fact that its author has only just reached adulthood turns its publication into a thunderclap. A truly great writer steps onto the stage, in full possession of his powers." --Daniel Kehlmann, internationally bestselling author of The Director

"Lázár is captivating and vivid, creating an intriguing atmosphere of secrets, repression and furtive but robust sexuality." --Marcel Theroux, The Guardian

"Fabulous is the word for this twisted modern fairytale." --James Riding, The Times

"Biedermann not only shows plenty of skills as a novelist, but wisdom well beyond his years. His imaginative capacity and desire to engage with both the discomforts of history and the cornucopia of dead authors who inspired him gives you - at least, it gave me - a cynicism-killing hope for the future of literature. Lázár, above all, shows that the drab realism of too many millennials doesn't cut it for the generation now coming of age. To Gen Z novelists, that style is past its sell-by date. This is the future now." --Telegraph UK

About the Author

Nelio Biedermann, born in 2003, is the author of Anton will bleiben and Lázár. Originally published in Germany, Lázár is an international sensation and was an instant bestseller. It won the 2025 Favourite Book of Independent Booksellers award and is being translated into more than twenty-five languages. A native of Zurich, Biedermann is studying German literature and film at the University of Zurich.