An allegory set in Hungary examines the end of socialism and the rise of capitalism. Since the days of Hawthorne, Melville and Poe, American authors have had a penchant for sweeping allegory, for tales that examine universal human qualities through the presentation of stylized and generalized characters. This tradition is carried on today by authors such as Cormac McCarthy in his novels "The Road" and "Blood Meridian," Toni Morrison in "A Mercy" and National Book Critics Circle Award finalist M.