Héjba zárt hagyomány. Gáspár András Gáspár: Héjnélküli
Tradition Sealed in a Shell (András Gáspár Gáspár: Héjnélküli [Shell-less])

Summary/Abstract: András Gáspár Gáspár’s young adult novel Héjnélküli [Shell-less] portrays a closed tribal world where blindness is enforced through rituals rendered unquestionable by tradition: newborns are fitted with a “Holy Shell” that blocks out light. In this society, vision is considered a sin – ostensibly because it leads to envy and unrest – but metaphorically, it reflects the ideological mechanisms of totalitarian regimes. Set in the Indonesian archipelago during the colonial period, the novel focuses not on external conflicts but on the internal logic of tradition and obedience. Héjnélküli combines the historical adventure genre with metafictional elements of the girls’ novel, employing innovative language and typographic experimentation to emphasise cultural alienness and to question taboos. Ultimately, it warns against the uncritical acceptance of in¬herited norms and exposes how references to tradition and the transcendent can legitimise authoritarian control – even in contemporary contexts

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