Péterfy Gergely’s novel, ‘The Stuffed Barbarian’, published in 2014, which narrates the friendship between Ferenc Kazinczy and Angelo Soliman through Sophie Török’s account, garnered significant critical and reader acclaim. It was awarded the Aegon Art Prize in 2015, and the explosive reader interest is evidenced by its seventh edition currently (2022).

‘Vivisection’ is a collaborative work, the result of a collective interpretive effort: it compiles scholarly articles by eminent literary scholars, offers a selection of reviews written about ‘The Stuffed Barbarian’, and includes Péterfy Gergely’s previously unpublished essay on the writing of the novel. In the introductory panel discussion, the author, interpreter, and literary critic invite the reader to the round table, where ‘The Stuffed Barbarian’ lies spread out as a corpus delicti.

Even if with white cotton gloves, I was able to touch Angelo Soliman’s signature in the archives, and I knew what it meant when Kazinczy – writing his memoirs about their friendship – blessed his name three times.”