"Captivity is a complex and fast-paced tale of Jewish life in the early first century, a sort of sword-and-sandals saga as reimagined by Henry Roth. The narrative follows Uri from Rome to Jerusalem and back, from prospectless dreamer to political operative to pogrom survivor-who along the way also happens to dine with Herod Antipas and Pontius Pilate and get thrown into a cell with a certain Galilean rabble-rouser. Hungarian György Spiró's deft combination of philosophical inquiry and page-turning brio should overcome that oft-mentioned American timidity toward books in translation." (Sam Sacks, The Wall Street Journal, Ten Best Fiction Books of 2015)



Born in 1946 in Budapest, award-winning dramatist, novelist, and translator György Spiró has earned a repulation as one of postwar Hungary's most prominent and prolific literary figures. He is the author of four novels and more than forty palys, and his works have received over thirty awards and prizes.