The ant heap

The Ant Heap, written by one of Eastern Europe's most remarkable women writers, is a lyrical and perceptive evocation of a turbulent six months in the life of a Hungarian convent school early this century. In a series of sharp, witty and warmly imaginative scenes, Margit Kaffka exposes a closed world in which modern ideas of female education and economic independence begin to dislodge the power of religious observance and social tradition; and where love, sexual awakening and the lures of the outside world all conspire to create confusion and deception. The novel ripples and hums with gossip, intrigue and sexual yearning. Beneath the starched white veil of serene piety and ritual order the irrepressible demands of earthly desire find their own inevitable outlets.