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4.13 AVERAGE
4.13 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
If you've ever had a close but frustrating relationship with someone who is wired differently than you, or follows a different moral/ethical code, then this should resonate with you as it did with me. The tensions in the friendship between the two women are head vs. heart, logic vs. gut, modern vs. traditional, giving vs. taking, community vs. the individual ... yet the bond is powerful. This book opened my mind and heart a bit, and for that I love it!
I can't remember the last time a book held me in its grips and I felt I couldn't put it down. Szabos writing absolutely gripped me and ceased to let go until its last page.
This book is going to sit with me for a while. Absolutely stunning.
This book is going to sit with me for a while. Absolutely stunning.
I listened to this audiobook, which I think helped me get into it a bit more because it is quite a dense read, especially at the beginning. For the audiobook, this was the first fiction one I've finished and it was actually pretty good.
I read this for a book club or I probably wouldn't otherwise have read it, but I ended up enjoying it and surprised I enjoyed it because it is very much a book about two women's friendship... and then so much more. It prompted a really excellent discussion in our book club about trauma, war, humanity, morality and mortality and why people would eat yogurt for dinner.
I read this for a book club or I probably wouldn't otherwise have read it, but I ended up enjoying it and surprised I enjoyed it because it is very much a book about two women's friendship... and then so much more. It prompted a really excellent discussion in our book club about trauma, war, humanity, morality and mortality and why people would eat yogurt for dinner.
Wow! This is excellent fiction writing. And the central character is like nothing I have ever read. It's not a fairytale by any means but it is honest and smart. This is a book you won't soon forget.
An incredibly interesting read, translated from Hungarian. Unlike many things I've read in translation, this is an easy, seamless read.
I'm not even sure how to describe this one. It's about the relationship between two women--the narrator, a post-WWII Hungarian writer, and the much older, unusual women who becomes her long-time housekeeper. The housekeeper is odd and mysterious, their relationship is tumultuous.
We read this for our book club and it led to a lot of interesting discussion, and several of us found that we'd researched a lot about the author, Hungary, WWII, and more after finishing the book.
I'm not even sure how to describe this one. It's about the relationship between two women--the narrator, a post-WWII Hungarian writer, and the much older, unusual women who becomes her long-time housekeeper. The housekeeper is odd and mysterious, their relationship is tumultuous.
We read this for our book club and it led to a lot of interesting discussion, and several of us found that we'd researched a lot about the author, Hungary, WWII, and more after finishing the book.
A unique novel that describes a bizarre love-hate relationship on the background of the historical traumas of Eastern Europe, where the Nazi onslaught was followed directly by the Soviet regime, providing many layers of oddity and secretiveness that might not occur under other circumstances. The characters remind me of people I knew back in the USSR. A lovely and nuanced book if you give it a little while to draw you in.
Esistono amori indefiniti e indefinibili, l'amore tra la scrittrice e la sua domestica va al di fuori dei classici recinti in cui proviamo a rinchiudere i sentimenti. È Emerenc stessa a comunicarlo "Cucino, lavo, pulisco, io non sono la sua mamma morta, né la sua balia, né la sua piccola amica del cuore". Eppure Emerenc e Magda si amano di un amore passionale e struggente e come in ogni grande storia d'amore c'è il tradimento, il disperato tentativo di farsi perdonare, la delusione, il pegno d'amore; la possibilità di varcare la soglia della porta dove la domestica nasconde il suo passato ma anche e soprattutto se stessa. Uno dei romanzi più struggenti e devastanti che abbia mai letto.
challenging
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
i felt the first half was slow and i plodded along through it because of the rave reviews i’d seen, but the second half picked up and i was hooked. i think abigail is an easier read, but this one is more emotional, which i’m a sucker for. i was sure i’d not enjoy this book but it really turned around for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Suicide
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
No