Krisztina Tóth is one of Hungary’s most accomplished and widely respected writers and an outspoken public intellectual engaged with the struggle for women’s rights and the increasing restrictions on cultural autonomy in Hungary.
A prolific writer, Tóth explores games of subservience and dark social perversions with absurdist humor accessible even to those who do not otherwise follow contemporary literature. Difficult relationships, manipulation, uncertainty, and the harsh realities of life—with fate’s strange twists—are recurring themes in her work, whether expressed in poetry (My Secret Life), drama (The Bat), or prose (Pixel, Barcode). No stranger to controversy, Tóth does not shy away from exposing the hypocrisies, manipulation, and injustices of contemporary society, often painting grotesque portraits of modern Central Europe with a tinge of the region’s dark humor.
Her latest novel, The Eye of the Monkey (Majom Szeme, 2022), has been published in Croatian (2024), Italian (2025), and English. The Eye of the Monkey, translated by Ottilie Mulzet, was published by Seven Stories in October 2025 to critical acclaim in Financial Times, Asymptote, and The New York Times.