Dave the Dude
In 1993-94, while working as the Editor of Budapest Week, I wrote a serialized story about a young American trying to fake it until he makes it in post-communist Budapest. The installments ran for 38 weeks in the About Town section of Budapest Week. They were written under my pen name of Berger Bronte (inspired by some literary sisters and Fred Flinstone's favorite food).
Dave the Dude is a satire of an unusual time: While Hungary was shaking off the cobwebs of communism and re-inventing itself, opportunistic westerners headed east, promoting themselves as gurus of capitalism.
Taken together, the episodes amount to a short novel, but they were never assembled in one place, until now.
Read all the published installments below:
Dave the Dude, Episode 1
Dave the Dude, Episode 2
Dave the Dude, Episode 3
Dave the Dude, Episode 4
Dave the Dude, Episode 5
Dave the Dude, Episode 6
Dave the Dude, Episode 7
Dave the Dude, Episode 8
Dave the Dude, Episode 9
Dave the Dude, Episode 10
Dave the Dude, Episode 11
Dave the Dude, Episode 12
Dave the Dude, Episode 13
Dave the Dude, Episode 14
Dave the Dude, Episode 15
Dave the Dude, Episode 16
Dave the Dude, Episode 17
Dave the Dude, Episode 18
Dave the Dude, Episode 19
Dave the Dude, Episode 20
Dave the Dude, Episode 21
Dave the Dude, Episode 22
Dave the Dude, Episode 23
Dave the Dude, Episode 24
Dave the Dude, Episode 25
Dave the Dude, Episode 26
Dave the Dude, Episode 27
Dave the Dude, Episode 28
Dave the Dude, Episode 29
Dave the Dude, Episode 30
Dave the Dude, Episode 31
Dave the Dude, Episode 32
Dave the Dude, Episode 33
Dave the Dude, Episode 34
Dave the Dude, Episode 35
Dave the Dude, Episode 36
Dave the Dude, Episode 37
Dave the Dude, Episode 38