Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme started by @Lauren’s Page Turners but is currently hosted by Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog. This meme is quite easy to follow – just randomly pick a book from your to-be-read list and explain why you want to read it. It is that simple.

This week’s book:

Lázár by Nelio Biedermann

Blurb from Goodreads

Inspired by the author’s own family story, Lázár is a gothic intergenerational family saga with a touch of magic following an aristocratic Hungarian family over several generations—perfect for readers of Kazuo Ishiguro and One Hundred Years of Solitude.

The Lázárs are a noble Hungarian family who spend their time between their rural summer estate, the “Waldschloss”—surrounded by menacingly dark, fairytale-like woods—and a glittering winter castle in the city.

Lajos von Lázár is the youngest child and only son, who looks nothing like the rest of his family with his light blue eyes and translucent skin. Feeling a constant divide between himself and others, he is only able to truly connect with his uncle, whose otherworldly foresight is often confused for insanity. As the decades go by, the Lázárs repeatedly fall prey to their own desires, leading to a family history steeped in tragedy and recurring trauma. But time and again, in the lighter years, great love and hope shine through.

Masterfully written and deeply haunting, Lázár is an astonishingly self-confident, clever novel, and Nelio Biedermann is a brilliant storyteller, a fresh voice of a new generation looking at history through a different lens and telling it in a way that feels both modern and timeless.

Why I Want To Read It

Happy Monday, everyone! Just like that, we are nearly through the sixth month of the year. In a couple of days, we will be welcoming July. How time flies! As always, time takes its natural course, ever flowing forward, sans regard for any of us. It does not wait for anyone. As such, I hope the year is going—and will continue to go—well for everyone. I hope the year will be kind to you all. Things are still erratic, whether at work or geopolitics. I sure hope the tension in the Middle East will start to de-escalate. I hope that peace will gradually be restored. I also hope that things will also slow down at work. Things have been hectic lately, and with the month-end just over the horizon, I am hoping things will start looking up. Anyway, I hope everyone has had a good start to the workweek. I hope everyone is in a place of comfort. The new week beckons with hope and fresh starts. I hope it flows in everyone’s favor. Wishing you continued success and happiness.

I know—not many people get excited about Mondays (though I’m sure a few are out there). I, too, am not exactly a fan. Still, I hope that as the week moves forward, you slowly gain a semblance of momentum. I hope everyone’s workweek goes smoothly. More importantly, I hope everyone is doing well—mentally, emotionally, and physically. After spending the first two months of the year reading works of Latin American and Caribbean writers, I have been immersing myself in the works of European writers. It took me some time to decide where to land next, but in the end, I chose to read European writers, since most of the books on my 2026 reading challenge list are by European authors. Still, I have several works by European writers on my reading challenges, hence the inevitable extension of this literary journey into June. I find it ironic that the books in my reading challenges remain unread, even though I began this venture into European literature specifically to complete them earlier than usual.

As the year is nearly halfway through, literary publications are sharing their lists of best books of the year so far. This is how I came across Nelio Biedermann and his novel Lázár. Actually, it was only today that I have learned about the Swiss writer, who I also learned was born in 2003. Apparently, his paternal side of the family was of Hungarian noble descent. His grandparents fled to Switzerland in the 1950s. I guess this is the reason why I was a little confused. When I read about the book, the blurb mentioned Hungary and Hungarian. However, upon checking the writer’s profile, I learned he is Swiss. I guess this explains the gap. When he was twenty, his debut novel, Anton will bleiben, was published. I must say he has already accomplished a lot despite his relative youth. How I envy Biedermann. Biedermann, however, is more renowned for his sophomore novel; there is no sophomore slump for him I guess.

Even before its release, Lázár was already a sensation. When the manuscript was first floated, seven German-language publishers competed for the rights to publish the book. Around the time of the Frankfurt Book Fair in autumn 2024, publishing rights were acquired by twenty international publishers. This underscores the prominence of the novel. In 2026, it was made available to Anglophone readers. The novel, it seems, is inspired by Biedermann’s family history. The novel, thus, transports the readers to Hungary; Hungary recently found itself on the literary spotlight after László Krasznahorkai became the country’s second Nobel Laureate in Literature. What I find striking about Lázár is the comparison to the work of another Nobel Laureate, Gabriel García Márquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude. Apart from its chronicle of a family’s history, Lázár has elements of magic. I guess the comparison is founded. Or maybe I will have to reserve my judgment on that. This makes me look forward to reading the book.

For now, I hope I get to secure a copy of it. How about you, fellow readers? How was your Monday? What books have you recently added to your reading list? Drop your thoughts in the comments. For now—happy Monday, and as always, happy reading!