Péter Nádas was born in 1942 in Budapest. He is a novelist, playwright, and essayist. His mother died when he was young, and he spent his adolescence in an orphanage after his father's suicide in 1956 following the Soviet Union's suppression of the Hungarian revolution. He worked for a time as a photojournalist and reporter before dedicating himself solely to literature in 1969 and is now considered to be the outstanding author in contemporary Hungarian letters. Among his notable works are A Book of Memories and The End of a Family Story. Nádas is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Prize for Hungarian Art, 1989; the Austrian State Prize for European Literature, 1991; and the Vilenica International Prize for Literature, 1998. He currently resides in the Hungarian countryside.