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