Escape ’56: A Novel
At ten years old, Erzsi Molnár has known nothing but oppression at the hands of the communist regime that rules Hungary. But rebellion is in the air, and her sister Lili, eight years older, has joined the 1956 student uprising to bring a more liberal government to power. A cousin, who is an Olympic athlete, is debating whether to defect or if Hungary is worth saving. Then, in November, Soviet tanks roll in, one parking outside the window of the Molnárs’ Budapest apartment. Lili fears arrest because of her participation in the demonstrations since the summer. The girls’ father fears losing his job as a salesperson in the department store that his family once owned but was expropriated by the communist government. One step ahead of the secret police, the family takes a train to a border town and escapes through the woods to Austria, from where they travel to the United States as refugees.
This novel is based on the story of the author’s mother, Elizabeth. Most of it is narrated from her point of view, but the author also gives us the thoughts of Lili, their parents, and even a pair of Russian soldiers stationed outside their apartment. While this technique distances the reader from the main character, who is mostly an observer of events, it also gives us a sense of the drama and peril, the hope and disillusionment, of living through the failed revolution. Equally dramatic and revealing is the experience of the family upon arriving at a crowded New Jersey refugee camp after a long, perilous, and disorienting journey, where a form letter from President Dwight D. Eisenhower becomes a source of welcome, comfort, and hope.
