The Con Company: Double Actors in Budapest - Book Review

Gábor Domokos’s The Con Company: Double Actors in Budapest is a fast-paced, "cinematic heist novel" that brings a "vivid new color" to contemporary Hungarian literature. Set in the gritty yet elegant streets of Budapest, the story follows a tight-knit team of swindlers led by the brilliant Dénes Szalay and his legendary aunt, Mici néni. Mici, once known as the infamous "Bride Mici," serves as the group’s matriarch and mentor, teaching her nephew that the essence of a successful "parade" lies in the smallest details. Alongside Viktor, a disgraced banker, and Anett, a woman fleeing a dangerous underworld husband, they execute complex scams that leave their marks stunned.

The narrative's brilliance truly shines through its sophisticated, "Hollywood-style" construction, which naturally draws compelling comparisons to popular heist stories like Money Heist and Ocean’s Eleven. The central plot is set in motion by a high-stakes ultimatum from Oszkár Balogh, an antique dealer who has been victimized and now seeks retribution. He coerces the team into an audacious mission: to steal a priceless Beethoven manuscript from the heavily guarded Giants Museum.

However, the author masterfully plays a complex "shell game," a series of deceptions that misdirect not just the characters within the story, but the reader as well. It becomes clear that the elaborate heist of the Beethoven manuscript was, in fact, a masterful con, one that cleverly relied on creating a convincing illusion of theft rather than an actual one.

The book is also peppered with lesser, yet equally clever, scams. A prime example is Anett Kertész's "broken-vase trick," a cunning street hustle designed to manipulate unsuspecting victims into paying a large sum for a worthless item disguised as a "priceless" antique vase. To execute this, she would carry a neatly wrapped gift box containing a cheap, mass-produced vase. By using pre-broken shards, she could create a startlingly convincing shattering sound upon impact. Typically targeting older men in crowded public areas, Anett would strategically stop short in front of her mark to cause an inevitable collision, making her drop the box and seemingly destroy its precious contents.

This novel is relevant for its bold shift in Hungarian literature, proving the culture is ready for sophisticated, suspenseful con stories that utilize global archetypes. Second, it provides a sharp social commentary on the various strata of Budapest, from the "poverty smell" of District VIII to the opulent, secret villas of the elite. Finally, it explores the fluid nature of morality and identity, where every character is a "double actor" and "everyone here is a swindler". Domokos creates a world where "everything is greased," and the reader must stay alert at all times to keep up with the wild pace. Ultimately, The Con Company is a masterful "double act" that succeeds in making the reader "enjoy being fooled".