The following edition of the text was used in the creation of this study guide: Krasznahorkai, László. War and War. Tuskar Rock Press, 2016. Kindle AZW file.

The novel opens with protagonist Korin on a railway bridge in Hungary, surrounded by seven boys who initially plan to rob him. Believing they intend to kill him, Korin delivers a rambling monologue about his life while they wait for a train they plan to throw stones at. He describes his work as an archivist, his growing mental instability, and the abandonment of his former life, including his friends and wife. He mentions a mysterious document found at work and his decision, made a day earlier, to begin a “great journey,” though he does not explain either. When the train arrives, the boys run off to throw stones at it, allowing Korin to escape.

Korin travels to the city center, where a young couple directs him to an all-night music gig. Overwhelmed by the noise, he eventually falls asleep in a storage cupboard. The next morning, he goes to the MALEV airline office to buy a ticket to New York. There, he speaks at length with a flight attendant waiting to escort an elderly Swiss woman. Korin explains his intention to travel to New York, which he believes is the center of the world, and says he plans to end his life there, claiming he has been driven mad by the Greek God Hermes. Though initially reluctant, the stewardess is drawn to the conversation and later remembers Korin with emotion. After learning he needs a visa, Korin pays a large sum of hidden money to secure one and books a flight for the next day. Before he can finish explaining his plans, including a manuscript sewn into his coat, the stewardess’s attention shifts to the Swiss woman, and their conversation ends.

Korin travels to New York and is detained at the airport due to his lack of luggage and the money and document sewn into his coat. After questioning with the help of a Hungarian translator, he is released when his papers and hotel plans are found to be in order. The translator gives Korin his business card, is fired for doing so, and becomes angry about the incident.

Disoriented, Korin leaves the airport, is unexpectedly assaulted, and takes a taxi to a hotel. Overwhelmed, he remains in his room for several days until hunger forces him out. After briefly venturing into the city, he realizes he cannot afford to stay at the hotel and contacts the translator, who agrees to let Korin stay in his apartment in exchange for rent. Korin tells him he came to New York not to begin a new life but to end his old one. Living with the translator and his lover Maria, Korin delivers long monologues, which are largely ignored. He reveals that he found a manuscript in a records office in Hungary and believes it must be preserved forever. After hearing about the internet, he decides to use it for this purpose. The translator helps Korin buy a laptop and set up a website, and Korin begins typing the manuscript. He spends his time working on it, walking the city, and speaking incessantly to Maria, who does not acknowledge him. One day, Maria briefly addresses him, asking about the diamonds displayed at the airport, and then leaves without further explanation.

Korin begins recounting the contents of the manuscript aloud, mainly to Maria. The first section is set in ancient Crete, where four survivors of a shipwreck named Kasser, Bengazza, Falke, and Toot, are rescued by villagers. The men refuse to explain their origins and ask questions about the island’s defences. A mysterious cat seller, Mastemann, lives in the village and is considered ominous. After animals behave strangely and a lion collapses in the village, the residents flee. A volcanic eruption follows, and the four men escape by ship, while Mastemann disappears.

While narrating this, Korin notices that Maria has been beaten. The interpreter later warns Maria not to share personal matters with Korin. Despite this, Korin reflects that his life in New York has been meaningful and encourages Maria to hope for a better future.

Korin continues typing the manuscript and recounts its next section, set in 19th-century Cologne. Kasser, Bengazza, Falke, and Toot appear again, this time observing the long-delayed completion of Cologne Cathedral from a tavern. They avoid questions about their past and are mistakenly believed to be war heroes. Mastemann reappears, and soon after, the military takes over the area and halts construction, prompting the four men to leave the city.

The interpreter returns home drunk and rapes Maria. The next morning, he tells Korin he is as an artist, interested only in the human condition. Korin resumes recounting the manuscript, which now follows Kasser, Bengazza, Falke, and Toot traveling toward Venice in 1423. They accept a ride from a nobleman who is revealed to be Mastemann. Along the way, they discuss Venice as a place of peace, but learn that the pro-war candidate Francesco Foscari has won the election. Mastemann departs, sending them a cryptic message about war.

In New York, Korin notices Maria’s injuries, briefly sharing a moment with her while watching snowfall. He later tells her how important she is to him; she responds only once, saying she understands him. Strangers remove the interpreter’s belongings from the apartment and then replace them with new furniture and appliances. Korin continues describing the manuscript, which now shifts to Roman Britain near Hadrian’s Wall, then to Gibraltar in 1493. The four men are sent to admire great structures rather than perform official duties. Kasser grows ill, and Mastemann predicts a future world ruled by financial power.

In New York, Korin discovers hidden packets of white powder in a communal bathroom. He grows frustrated by his inability to fully understand the manuscript. The interpreter eventually returns, refuses to explain his sudden wealth, and celebrates. Korin gives him money and asks him to ensure the manuscript’s website is preserved permanently, saying he has achieved what he came to New York to do. On his final night in the apartment, Korin cannot sleep and later discovers that the hidden packets of white powder in the shared bathroom have been replaced with money. He saves the manuscript under the title War and War and leaves, intending to buy a gun.

While wandering New York, he meets a Hungarian man named Gyuri, drinks heavily with him, and plans to show him the manuscript the next day. After passing out drunk, Korin is robbed. Returning to the apartment, he finds that the interpreter and Maria have been murdered. He takes the hidden money and flees the country with Gyuri’s help.

Korin arrives in Zurich and continues speaking obsessively about the manuscript and its characters. He buys a gun and travels to Schaffhausen to a museum housing a sculpture he has become fixated on. There, he speaks with a Hungarian museum employee, Mr. Kalotaszegi, to whom he explains the manuscript and his intention to kill himself. Korin pays for a plaque to be installed beside the sculpture explaining who he was and where the manuscript can be found online, then shoots himself. Museum staff later read the manuscript and are astonished. A plaque commemorating Korin is installed.

In the final section, Korin appears in a bus station buffet, speaking as if from the afterlife about the moral corruption of the world. After witnessing violence between two vagrants, he shoots himself again. The scene ends with ordinary life continuing around his body, and the novel closes with his removal by authorities.