George Mikes started out as a lawyer in Hungary, in the nineteen thirties. He was also a journalist and it was in this capacity that he went to England. Thanks to the political climate of that time, he decided to continue there. And, though he took up citizenship later, he strove, lifelong, for the land of his birth.
His first books appears to highlight the plight of his country at that period. But humour crept in. And that is what seems to have set the trend for his later output.
Here are some Mikes that I want to read:
Now, as I've been whining over and over, here is another case where an author is sinking into the quicksands of time with more than a little help from the greed of publishers and the ill-logic of lawmakers. Amazon has George Mikes for over a thousand rupees - collector's items. Now, who in their right minds today will dish that much out for an author nobody is talking about? Who will benefit from that money?
George Mikes is not easy to access on the Net. There only exist the very occasional review of a few of his works. Sad evidence of how so-called 'good' or 'legal' enforcement can act with as much force as book banning or burning, controlling what people may have free access to under the guise of dubious moral grounds. Effectively, this undoes all that the Gutenberg and Internet Archive initiatives stood for - universal access to the sum total of all human output. Especially all that is or might stand for quality. Especially if the creator is dead. One definite good such open access would do is ensure that no person married another just so they could benefit from royalties.
However, if the noble endeavours of some online heroes were to be unhindered and saluted instead, we could all sample the exquisite and particular humour of George Mikes amongst others.
Here is a piece of Mikes that you can read online: How to Avoid Travelling
Tomorrow, we shall see another great humourist, one who has actually been harmed by wrong publicity, use in syllabus and monopoly by publishers. But we shall tackle that grumble a day later than that.
His first books appears to highlight the plight of his country at that period. But humour crept in. And that is what seems to have set the trend for his later output.
Where Dahl took us to fantasy lands, peopled by fairytale ogres and witches, George Mikes trotted us around the world in his books. There was a book each for some European countries, one for Japan that I know of and there are even 'how-tos"! Feast your eyes on a list.
Most probably, I have read his How to be an Alien and some others, which were lying around the house in my youth. Absolutely priceless. As I researched him for this article, I listened to the book on Youtube and it was hard to stifle the chuckles that erupted. The excerpt below will make it clearer:
People ask me, ‘When are you going to write another How to be an Alien?’ I am sure they mean to be kind, but they cannot quite understand my quiet reply: ‘Never, I hope.’ I think I am the right person to write about ‘how to be an alien’. I am an alien. I have been an alien all my life. I first understood that I was an alien when I was twenty-six years old. In my country, Hungary, everybody was an alien so I did not think I was very different or unusual. Then I came to England and learned that I was different. This was an unpleasant surprise. I learned immediately that I was an alien. People learn all important things in a few seconds. A long time ago I spent a lot of time with a young woman who was very proud of being English. One day, to my great surprise, she asked me to marry her.
‘No,’ I replied, ‘I cannot marry you. My mother does not want me to marry a foreigner.’
She looked surprised and replied, ‘Me, a foreigner? What a funny thing to say. I’m English. You are the foreigner! And your mother is a foreigner, too!’
Any Souvenirs — Central Europe Revisited by George Mikes
The book as a whole leaves us with something far more enduring and enjoyable than the cuckoo-clocks, embroidered tray-cloths and leather-covered liqueur bottles suggested by the title.
booklovers.co.uk
As we already know, he has many books about places. And even when the title or main focus is not the land in itself, Mikes magnificently uses anything handy: Coffee Houses Of Europe. There is mention of this book on one site but the person commenting has no sense of humour and so I will not lead you there.
The other such books, directly or indirectly related by title to places, are: East Is East and a couple of books about Australia: Boomerang and Boomerang, Australia Rediscovered.
We also know he has written Tango, The Hungarian Revolution, The Land Of the Rising Yen, Milk and Honey Israel Explored and Coat of many colors.
And there are Leap Through the Curtain (a reference to the Iron Curtain?), Down With Everybody and a trio related directly to humour: Eight Humorists, Humour In Memoriam and Laughing Matter.
Mikes has a long list of books whose titles begin with 'how to': How To Be a Guru, How To Be a Yank, How To Be Affluent, How To Be God, How To Be Poor, How To Be Seventy, How To Scrape Skies, How To Tango, and How To Unite Nations.
Another set of this type is sometimes sold as a unit: How To Be a Brit, How To Be an Alien, How To Be Inimitable, and How To Be Decadent.
Mikes has also produced some humorous fiction: Mortal Passion; The Spy Who Died of Boredom.
The other such books, directly or indirectly related by title to places, are: East Is East and a couple of books about Australia: Boomerang and Boomerang, Australia Rediscovered.
And Switzerland For Beginners -
" An early Bill Bryson, if you will."
Italy For Beginners...
We also know he has written Tango, The Hungarian Revolution, The Land Of the Rising Yen, Milk and Honey Israel Explored and Coat of many colors.
And there are Leap Through the Curtain (a reference to the Iron Curtain?), Down With Everybody and a trio related directly to humour: Eight Humorists, Humour In Memoriam and Laughing Matter.
Mikes has a long list of books whose titles begin with 'how to': How To Be a Guru, How To Be a Yank, How To Be Affluent, How To Be God, How To Be Poor, How To Be Seventy, How To Scrape Skies, How To Tango, and How To Unite Nations.
Another set of this type is sometimes sold as a unit: How To Be a Brit, How To Be an Alien, How To Be Inimitable, and How To Be Decadent.
And there's this one:
Now, as I've been whining over and over, here is another case where an author is sinking into the quicksands of time with more than a little help from the greed of publishers and the ill-logic of lawmakers. Amazon has George Mikes for over a thousand rupees - collector's items. Now, who in their right minds today will dish that much out for an author nobody is talking about? Who will benefit from that money?
George Mikes is not easy to access on the Net. There only exist the very occasional review of a few of his works. Sad evidence of how so-called 'good' or 'legal' enforcement can act with as much force as book banning or burning, controlling what people may have free access to under the guise of dubious moral grounds. Effectively, this undoes all that the Gutenberg and Internet Archive initiatives stood for - universal access to the sum total of all human output. Especially all that is or might stand for quality. Especially if the creator is dead. One definite good such open access would do is ensure that no person married another just so they could benefit from royalties.
However, if the noble endeavours of some online heroes were to be unhindered and saluted instead, we could all sample the exquisite and particular humour of George Mikes amongst others.
Here is a piece of Mikes that you can read online: How to Avoid Travelling
Tomorrow, we shall see another great humourist, one who has actually been harmed by wrong publicity, use in syllabus and monopoly by publishers. But we shall tackle that grumble a day later than that.
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