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The Fencers
The Fencers is the third volume in a trilogy of autobiographical Cold War Escape stories. It is both an immigrant's narrative of seeking a better life and a brighter future and a sports memoir focusing on two Olympic fencers, one representing Canada, the other Romania. Most of all, it is the account of the author’s friendship with Paul Szabó, a Romanian-Hungarian epée fencer, Szabó’s love for a young woman he married and her tragic death. In Romania, the country Paul represented in the 1976 Olympics, Nicolae Ceaușescu was then President. Mismanagement, rampant corruption, mass surveillance, brutality and human rights abuses were rampant. Ceaușescu’s Stalinist secret police, the Securitate, was particularly notorious for purges, oppression and restrictions of freedom of the almost two million Hungarians, like Szabó, who had lived in Romania for centuries. And it was in this context that Paul, only twenty-one at the time takes the difficult decision to stay in Canada, with the prospect of never seeing his parents and homeland again. He approaches his friend, Tatrallyay, who against all odds helps him defect to Canada and start a new life in his chosen country. The Fencers is an exciting true story of courage, friendship, love, happiness, success and tragedy.
178 pages, Paperback
First published March 8, 2019
About the author
Geza Tatrallyay
19 books291 followersBorn in Budapest, Hungary, Geza escaped with his family in 1956 during the Hungarian Revolution, emigrating to Canada the same year. He grew up in Toronto, attending the University of Toronto Schools, where he was School Captain. He graduated from Harvard University with a BA in Human Ecology in 1972 (after taking a break in his studies to work as a host in the Ontario Pavilion at Expo’70 in Osaka, Japan). Geza was selected as a Rhodes Scholar from Ontario, attending Oxford University and graduating with a BA/MA in Human Sciences in 1974; he completed his studies with a MSc in Economics from London School of Economics and Politics in 1975. Geza represented Canada as an epée fencer in the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal.
Geza’s professional experience has included stints in government (Department of Finance, Canada), international organizations (Inter-American Development Bank), commercial / investment banking (Royal Bank of Canada), private equity (MAVA Capital in Hungary) and environmental entrepreneurship (Vertis Environmental Finance). Since 2004, he has been semi-retired, advising a few firms mainly in the clean energy sector and devoting himself to his family, travel and writing. Geza is a citizen of Canada and Hungary, with an American wife, a daughter living in San Francisco and a son in Nairobi, and currently divides his time between San Francisco and Barnard, Vermont, with frequent visits to Montreal, Toronto, New York, Vienna and London.
Geza’s professional experience has included stints in government (Department of Finance, Canada), international organizations (Inter-American Development Bank), commercial / investment banking (Royal Bank of Canada), private equity (MAVA Capital in Hungary) and environmental entrepreneurship (Vertis Environmental Finance). Since 2004, he has been semi-retired, advising a few firms mainly in the clean energy sector and devoting himself to his family, travel and writing. Geza is a citizen of Canada and Hungary, with an American wife, a daughter living in San Francisco and a son in Nairobi, and currently divides his time between San Francisco and Barnard, Vermont, with frequent visits to Montreal, Toronto, New York, Vienna and London.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 20, 2019
As a writer and reader of thrillers, memoirs are not usually my thing. And usually these days when I see an article about sport, my eyes glaze over. It is a long time since I played any kind of sport myself and, well, these days sportsmen and women aren’t what they used to be. So, I braced myself and entered the world of author, Geza Tatrallyay through his memoir, "The Fencers", the third volume in a trilogy of autobiographical Cold War escape stories. I’m sure glad I did. I hadn’t read either of the first two in the series so I was fascinated to learn of the author’s background, his own family’s escape from Communist Hungary, starting out from scratch in a new country, Canada, fitting in to a society that was so different it must have seemed like it was on another planet. We follow the author’s highs and lows as he set out to become a fencer and eventually finds himself, to his own great surprise, representing Canada as an épée fencer in the 1976 Montreal Olympics. I am old enough to recall those Olympics and it was at a time when, so much younger, I was very interested in sport, including as a spectator. I remember some of the highlights, but most especially, the spell-binding fourteen-year-old Romanian gymnast, Nadia Comaneci, who became the first person to score a perfect 10 at the Olympics. She recorded seven 10.00 scores and won three gold medals, including the all-round. The interesting thing about "The Fencers" is that the reader is treated to an insider’s view of exactly what was happening at the time, including a vivid, birds-eye-view description of Comaneci’s amazing feat. Those Games are treated in considerable detail, perhaps taking up most of the book but against that background, the author describes his meeting and developing relationship with Paul Szabó, a Romanian-Hungarian fencer who wanted to defect to the West. He was representing Romania at the Games but he was willing to put everything on the line, including his life, to avoid returning to corrupt, cruel regime of Nicolae Ceausescu. The author assisted him to do so and, in the process, became a life-long friend. Tragedy struck Szabó later but he managed to start a new life, as the author did, in his adopted country. "The Fencers" is a fascinating, hard-to-put-down read.
June 27, 2019
The Fencers by Geza Tatrallyay is a beautifully woven, true tale of perseverance and fencing!
Autobiographies and biographies are one of those 'genres' that I really fall in love with when I start diving into them. Reading about someone's life and peeking into their mind is a truly marvelous experience for me! Having the opportunity to read Geza's story, in Canada of all places, was absolutely breathtaking!
This book isn't long, but it sure packs a punch. This story follows Geza's journey studying in Canada and joining the Olympic fencing team. I really enjoyed the fencing side of the story! I have always found fencing to be a memorizing sport to watch. Reading Geza's explanations of how the game is played and how various matches went was excellent! The ups and downs of a match, the crazy stories Olympians can tell and the descriptions of the matches were just so darn cool.
Fencing isn't the only aspect of this story that makes it so intriguing to me. Geza helping his friend Paul really stood out in this story. The Hungarian is trying to seek refuge in Canada, and Geza is up for the challenge. There were just so many aspects of this story that tied together to make it attention grabbing. The Olympic story line, Geza's undergraduate and graduate tales and Paul's story all wrapped up into one perfect gift.
The story may pull at your heart strings a bit near the end, but otherwise it's an empowering tale!
If I had a con, it'd be that I wanted a little more. Some of the stories presented were written beautifully, but I would have love to pick Geza's brain more! They sounded so interesting and I'm sure there's more to some of these stories than what made it into the book.
Overall, this book was a real gem! I'm glad I had the opportunity to pick this book up! I needed more biographies on my shelf, so this book will be the perfect fit!
Five out of five stars!
I received this book for free from the author, Geza Tatrallyay, in exchange for an honest review.
Autobiographies and biographies are one of those 'genres' that I really fall in love with when I start diving into them. Reading about someone's life and peeking into their mind is a truly marvelous experience for me! Having the opportunity to read Geza's story, in Canada of all places, was absolutely breathtaking!
This book isn't long, but it sure packs a punch. This story follows Geza's journey studying in Canada and joining the Olympic fencing team. I really enjoyed the fencing side of the story! I have always found fencing to be a memorizing sport to watch. Reading Geza's explanations of how the game is played and how various matches went was excellent! The ups and downs of a match, the crazy stories Olympians can tell and the descriptions of the matches were just so darn cool.
Fencing isn't the only aspect of this story that makes it so intriguing to me. Geza helping his friend Paul really stood out in this story. The Hungarian is trying to seek refuge in Canada, and Geza is up for the challenge. There were just so many aspects of this story that tied together to make it attention grabbing. The Olympic story line, Geza's undergraduate and graduate tales and Paul's story all wrapped up into one perfect gift.
The story may pull at your heart strings a bit near the end, but otherwise it's an empowering tale!
If I had a con, it'd be that I wanted a little more. Some of the stories presented were written beautifully, but I would have love to pick Geza's brain more! They sounded so interesting and I'm sure there's more to some of these stories than what made it into the book.
Overall, this book was a real gem! I'm glad I had the opportunity to pick this book up! I needed more biographies on my shelf, so this book will be the perfect fit!
Five out of five stars!
I received this book for free from the author, Geza Tatrallyay, in exchange for an honest review.
April 1, 2019
This book is well written and enjoyable.
It is the third in a series of three books about the authors life and Cold War escape but can be read as a stand alone story, it is not necessary to have read the previous two. I must admit that I have not read them myself despite having read several of Geza’s other books, but after reading this one they are most definitely on my ‘to read’ list.
For a reader who knows nothing about fencing, such as myself, it may be nice to have a bit more explanation as to the different styles and jargon. Not that this detracts from the story at all, it just meant that I had to do a bit of research on the different techniques if I wanted a full understanding of the sport.
Ultimately this is a story about people not the sport itself so knowledge of fencing is not required in order to enjoy this book.
It is the third in a series of three books about the authors life and Cold War escape but can be read as a stand alone story, it is not necessary to have read the previous two. I must admit that I have not read them myself despite having read several of Geza’s other books, but after reading this one they are most definitely on my ‘to read’ list.
For a reader who knows nothing about fencing, such as myself, it may be nice to have a bit more explanation as to the different styles and jargon. Not that this detracts from the story at all, it just meant that I had to do a bit of research on the different techniques if I wanted a full understanding of the sport.
Ultimately this is a story about people not the sport itself so knowledge of fencing is not required in order to enjoy this book.
March 13, 2019
In this engaging memoir, we follow the athletic career of young Hungarian-Canadian fencer, Geza Tatrallyay, as he competes for Olympic honour while trying to help a fellow fencer escape from life behind the Iron Curtain. A story told from the heart, The Fencers offers unique insights into the international world of fencing, the 1976 Olympics and the hard choices made by East European athletes wanting a better life in the West but fearing retaliation against family members back home. The Fencers is a highly recommended read.
March 23, 2021
The Fencers: A Cold War Escape Memoir
Author, fencer, Olympian athlete, and immigrant, Geza Tatrallyay, escape with his family to Canada during the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. Having been accepted to the University of Toronto Schools in the seventh grade, Tatrallyay enrolled in fencing classes and thus he began his twenty-year journey, which took him to the Montreal 1976 Summer Olympics. While in Montreal, he reconnected with Paul Szabó, a Romanian-Hungarian epée fencer who was representing Romania in the fencing competitions. When Szabó confided in his friend that the oppressive Communist regime made life unbearable and the pressure to perform caused several fellow athletes to engage in unethical practices, an idea began to form. Szabó decided to defect and asked for Tatrallyay’s help. The two fencers put forth a plan. But with the Securitate, Stalin’s secret police, watching Szabó’s every move, eluding them would not be easy.
The Fencers is a story of emotional conflict, hope for a brighter future, and courage to act when failure seems imminent. It’s the story of friendship and the desire to lead a free life. Tatrallyay has written a compelling story that will keep you reading until the end.
Author, fencer, Olympian athlete, and immigrant, Geza Tatrallyay, escape with his family to Canada during the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. Having been accepted to the University of Toronto Schools in the seventh grade, Tatrallyay enrolled in fencing classes and thus he began his twenty-year journey, which took him to the Montreal 1976 Summer Olympics. While in Montreal, he reconnected with Paul Szabó, a Romanian-Hungarian epée fencer who was representing Romania in the fencing competitions. When Szabó confided in his friend that the oppressive Communist regime made life unbearable and the pressure to perform caused several fellow athletes to engage in unethical practices, an idea began to form. Szabó decided to defect and asked for Tatrallyay’s help. The two fencers put forth a plan. But with the Securitate, Stalin’s secret police, watching Szabó’s every move, eluding them would not be easy.
The Fencers is a story of emotional conflict, hope for a brighter future, and courage to act when failure seems imminent. It’s the story of friendship and the desire to lead a free life. Tatrallyay has written a compelling story that will keep you reading until the end.
April 25, 2024
The Fencers is the fourth book I've read by Geza Tatrallyay, and while two of them are engaging fictional thrillers, (Arctic Meltdown, and the follow-up Arctic Inferno), the other two are autobiographical memoirs from the life of a man who nobody can claim has lived anything other than a full, unique, and colorful life.
When I read Tatrallyay's 'For the Children,' I was transported to his homeland of Hungary, 1956, as I read about his family's escape from that country's Communist dictatorship. After a successful third attempt, nearly getting killed in the process, he and his family eventually settled in Toronto, Canada. When Tatrallyay was in his early 20's his expertise as a fencer landed him on the Canadian Olympic team for the 1976 games in Montreal. Near the end of the Olympics, Geza was approached by a friend competing in fencing for Romania, another Communist run dictatorship. That friend wanted Tatrallyay help him defect to Canada, an obviously risky, and potentially life-threatening attempt for the Romanian.
The Fencers brings the reader an education on the sport of fencing, and the struggles Tatrallyay required to make the team. The inner workings here for Olympic participation are very interesting for those who are curious about how these things work behind the scenes. The other lure, of course, is the defection and how it came to be. Knowing that everything I read is Tatrallyay's memoirs from his years as a young man gave me a chance to observe, and admire, his dual role as an Olympic athlete and humanitarian.
Recommended, and I give it 5 stars.
When I read Tatrallyay's 'For the Children,' I was transported to his homeland of Hungary, 1956, as I read about his family's escape from that country's Communist dictatorship. After a successful third attempt, nearly getting killed in the process, he and his family eventually settled in Toronto, Canada. When Tatrallyay was in his early 20's his expertise as a fencer landed him on the Canadian Olympic team for the 1976 games in Montreal. Near the end of the Olympics, Geza was approached by a friend competing in fencing for Romania, another Communist run dictatorship. That friend wanted Tatrallyay help him defect to Canada, an obviously risky, and potentially life-threatening attempt for the Romanian.
The Fencers brings the reader an education on the sport of fencing, and the struggles Tatrallyay required to make the team. The inner workings here for Olympic participation are very interesting for those who are curious about how these things work behind the scenes. The other lure, of course, is the defection and how it came to be. Knowing that everything I read is Tatrallyay's memoirs from his years as a young man gave me a chance to observe, and admire, his dual role as an Olympic athlete and humanitarian.
Recommended, and I give it 5 stars.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews