Esther's Inheritance - S?ndor M?rai : For those who have read the earlier works, this is similar to Embers and Casanova in Bolzano. Those dramatic set up, return of a long lost lover, the lengthy verbal dual with long speeches, the unexpected ending ( well, there is no real suspense here), all there. Very theatrical, and the characters behaving to a set plan and action. They are all seems to be playing along to a pre determined out come. Very strong resemblance to the Embers and Casanova in style of writing ( "The rebel" was a bit different from a narrative style) and similar construction. Though not as great as Embers or Casanova, I liked this novel as well. Here is a review appeared in LA Times 2 days ago. 'Esther's Inheritance,' by Sándor Márai - Los Angeles Times