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4.13 AVERAGE
4.13 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A peculiar, meditative book about the complicated emotional nuances of friendship. A bit hard to digest, but gripping nonetheless. Emerence is shown to be an endlessly complex individual. She is fierce, sharply attuned to the world around her, and deeply integrated into her community, yet uneducated and strangely isolated. She denounces the institution of religion, but she is a force of pure good and piety by her own code of ethics. She is ruthless with her words and often shown to be vindictive, but she is also kind, loving, and endlessly loyal. She was fascinating to read about, and the way that Szabo unveils the layers of her personality and her past is masterful.
But to be honest, I think the real meat of this book lies in its exploration of duality and symbiotic relationships. In every relationship there is a scale of power, and the story of Emerence and Magda’s relationship involves several interesting inversions of typical power dynamics. The tension caused by this constant push and pull is what defines this relationship and makes it so compelling to watch as it develops - they hurt each other, they need each other; they’re impossibly incompatible, they’re the only ones who understand each other fully. The final act of the book is where it really shines, bringing all the multifaceted and contradictory dimensions of their relationship into focus through the breaking down of The Door.
But to be honest, I think the real meat of this book lies in its exploration of duality and symbiotic relationships. In every relationship there is a scale of power, and the story of Emerence and Magda’s relationship involves several interesting inversions of typical power dynamics. The tension caused by this constant push and pull is what defines this relationship and makes it so compelling to watch as it develops - they hurt each other, they need each other; they’re impossibly incompatible, they’re the only ones who understand each other fully. The final act of the book is where it really shines, bringing all the multifaceted and contradictory dimensions of their relationship into focus through the breaking down of The Door.
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Realised about 80 pages in that I wasn’t interested in the characters, the story or the writing. Somehow overdramatic and dull at the same time.
This is another book from NYRB that I initially thought was going to be five stars until I got bored in the middle. The concept is excellent, the (female) characters are complex, and I didn't even mind the heavy foreshadowing at the beginning. I felt like Szabó spent too much time building the reader's impression of Emerence through Magda's lens before (slightly) incorporating other characters and more impartial situations for analysis. I understand why she chose to write it that way, but it started to feel kind of suffocating and repetitive in a way that other novels with similar dynamics ("My Brilliant Friend") never did.
Like ok, yes, we get it: Magda's impression of Emerence is altered by her own self-absorption... please give me another angle because I can only take so many reiterations of the same situations/revelations. Maybe part of it was also the translation? Idk. It all came together beautifully in the end, I just wish those middle chapters ("Politics" through "Action") were more varied. I feel like this would have been more successful as a novella or as a novel with a third POV (Sutu, Adélka, maybe even the pseudo daughter whose canceled visit sent Emerence into a rage).
Don't get me wrong: I very much enjoyed this, but I couldn't stop myself from comparing it to "My Brilliant Friend," which I think is a masterpiece and does a better job of weaving in local politics that the reader might not be familiar with but can still understand through context.
Like ok, yes, we get it: Magda's impression of Emerence is altered by her own self-absorption... please give me another angle because I can only take so many reiterations of the same situations/revelations. Maybe part of it was also the translation? Idk. It all came together beautifully in the end, I just wish those middle chapters ("Politics" through "Action") were more varied. I feel like this would have been more successful as a novella or as a novel with a third POV (Sutu, Adélka, maybe even the pseudo daughter whose canceled visit sent Emerence into a rage).
Don't get me wrong: I very much enjoyed this, but I couldn't stop myself from comparing it to "My Brilliant Friend," which I think is a masterpiece and does a better job of weaving in local politics that the reader might not be familiar with but can still understand through context.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Unlikeable narrator, although I disliked Emerence more than her: I related to the narrator's selfishness in a way, and was annoyed by Emerence's holier-than-thou attitude and angry outbursts. I related to how the narrator was essentially living in her own world and chose to focus on her own events even when Emerence was struggling - she portrays her anxiety and the chaos around her in a very realistic way. I also liked the takes on expressing love and affection in this, and how that is not always nice and sweet: it reminded me of the Pakistani tendency to express affection by making fun of others.
“I know now, what I didn’t then, that affection can’t always be expressed in calm, orderly, articulate ways; and that one cannot prescribe the form it should take for anyone else.”
“I know now, what I didn’t then, that affection can’t always be expressed in calm, orderly, articulate ways; and that one cannot prescribe the form it should take for anyone else.”
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character