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4.13 AVERAGE
4.13 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship
Moderate: Suicide, Terminal illness, Grief
Particularly good as an audiobook -- this extraordinary book is world literature at its best and most unknown... I am so grateful to have found it. The author died in 2007; this massively important figure in Hungary perhaps tells us a bit about herself, as the narrator of The Door is a writer. Or perhaps not. There is mystery here, and deep emotion. This book changed me; it helped me deepen my friendships through gentle reflection and crystal clear honesty (with myself). What a gift.
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
It’s a beautiful story of a co-dependent, toxic relationship between a writer and her hired help where a weird power struggle never seems to end. Emerence, the said help, seems to be more in charge than her supposed employers. She is despotic, mysterious and strong-willed. Her employer, the writer and the narrator of this (maybe semi-autobiographical) book seems emotionally volatile which makes her susceptible to Emerence’s moods and tantrums. Emerence is not a demure servant, she comes and goes as she pleases but sometimes she works all night, cleaning everything in sight. When the writer adopts a dog, Emerence becomes its true master, which adds more fuel to their existing jealousy. Emerence never stops being tyrannical, even in her expressions of love.
In the very beginning the narrator tells us Emerence is dead and the she killed her. We suspect this might be a hyperbole but we are still along for the ride all the way to the heart-breaking end, slightly amazed that the narrator hints it’s the author herself talking and at the same paints such an unflattering picture of herself. I got the feeling the book was written as a form of apology and penance. As if through writing about Emerence, the narrator could finally get to know here the way she couldn’t while Emerence was still alive. Emerence is elevated here, to a semi-mythical figure, the type of ‘salt of the earth’ kind of character that most writers for some reason believe are more authentic in their existence than the intellectual (don’t get me started on that trope, though).
Additionally, we can also interpret the entire thing as a metaphor of the oppressive communist regime, which is also a rule for any book written during an oppressive communist regime. They are always somehow about that too.
I would recommend this book for fans of Ferrante. It’s like Ferrante but with a gloomy Eastern European sheen and none of the Southern flair.
In the very beginning the narrator tells us Emerence is dead and the she killed her. We suspect this might be a hyperbole but we are still along for the ride all the way to the heart-breaking end, slightly amazed that the narrator hints it’s the author herself talking and at the same paints such an unflattering picture of herself. I got the feeling the book was written as a form of apology and penance. As if through writing about Emerence, the narrator could finally get to know here the way she couldn’t while Emerence was still alive. Emerence is elevated here, to a semi-mythical figure, the type of ‘salt of the earth’ kind of character that most writers for some reason believe are more authentic in their existence than the intellectual (don’t get me started on that trope, though).
Additionally, we can also interpret the entire thing as a metaphor of the oppressive communist regime, which is also a rule for any book written during an oppressive communist regime. They are always somehow about that too.
I would recommend this book for fans of Ferrante. It’s like Ferrante but with a gloomy Eastern European sheen and none of the Southern flair.
Cultural irritants and human landmarks. I can see my own Nanny: all belligerence, energy, and care. A life that only some of us are capable of carrying out after experiencing too much, too fast.
Read a borrowed copy from S. Hiking through the Cairngorms. One of their past hikes on the cover as a sticker ‘Mesa Verde National Park - Colorado’ (wondering if I can pick one up to start a book-travelling collection). A kitsch ‘Bewitched’-style star drawn in pencil on the inner cover too. I don’t want to think about their imminent return to the US.
Read a borrowed copy from S. Hiking through the Cairngorms. One of their past hikes on the cover as a sticker ‘Mesa Verde National Park - Colorado’ (wondering if I can pick one up to start a book-travelling collection). A kitsch ‘Bewitched’-style star drawn in pencil on the inner cover too. I don’t want to think about their imminent return to the US.
This one took me a few weeks to get into, but once I hit the halfway point, I finished it in 2 days. The fine translation by Len Rix and the odd way the main character is written about is what kept me interested. It’s a bit unsettling of a story and I don’t feel very warm after finishing it, but I thought there were some interesting lessons to be told about personal convictions vs. familial obligations. It is set in post-revolutionary Hungary which definitely adds some subtext of how class and status affects people differently.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Emerence is a cat-lady icon, the soul of this novel, such a genius character study about vulnerability in all its platitudes.