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4.13 AVERAGE
4.13 AVERAGE
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
در محکمهٔ وجدان، قاضی، دادستان، وکیل و متهم همه یک نفر و آن یک نفر فردی جز خود انسان نیست. راوی در ابتدای داستان در مقام دادستان به شرح کیفرخواست دادگاه علیه خود می‌پردازد. اما اتهام او چیست؟ وی خود را به قتل امِرِنس، خدمتکار خویش، متهم نموده و سپس در اعتراف‌نامه‌ای طولانی داستان آشنایی اش با امرنس را روایت می‌کند. اما از همان ابتدا، قاضی رأی خود را صادر کرده است؛ اشد مجازات، یعنی همان عذاب وجدان مادام‌العمر.
راوی و امرنس هر دو زنانی هستند با خصوصیات اخلاقی متفاوت که داستان در واقع روایت تلاش این دو برای درک علایق و عواطف همدیگر است. امرنس، زنی بازمانده از جنگ جهانی دوم، علی‌رغم سالمندی از قوای فیزیکی و روحی قابل توجهی برخوردار است، اما پیچیدگی‌ها و رمز و رازهایی در اخلاق و رفتار او وجود دارد که وی را به تافته‌ای جدا بافته از جامعه تبدیل کرده است. در طول این داستان کم فرازونشیب به‌تدریج از این رمز و رازها گره‌گشایی می‌شود.
«در» نوشتۀ ماگدا سابو، نویسندۀ مجارستانی، به ترجمۀ نصراله مرادیانی و حاوی 476 صفحه، کتاب خوشخوانی است و از ترجمۀ خوبی نیز برخوردار است.
راوی و امرنس هر دو زنانی هستند با خصوصیات اخلاقی متفاوت که داستان در واقع روایت تلاش این دو برای درک علایق و عواطف همدیگر است. امرنس، زنی بازمانده از جنگ جهانی دوم، علی‌رغم سالمندی از قوای فیزیکی و روحی قابل توجهی برخوردار است، اما پیچیدگی‌ها و رمز و رازهایی در اخلاق و رفتار او وجود دارد که وی را به تافته‌ای جدا بافته از جامعه تبدیل کرده است. در طول این داستان کم فرازونشیب به‌تدریج از این رمز و رازها گره‌گشایی می‌شود.
«در» نوشتۀ ماگدا سابو، نویسندۀ مجارستانی، به ترجمۀ نصراله مرادیانی و حاوی 476 صفحه، کتاب خوشخوانی است و از ترجمۀ خوبی نیز برخوردار است.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
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
not a good beach read*
*Update after I’ve thought it over:
While reading this on vacation was definitely not the proper setting, I still think it would have felt like microdosing my own personal hell in any environment. I didn’t enjoy a single page. The main characters and their relationship felt unreasonable. There were way too many dog beatings and not enough realistic interactions.
Like I’ve said before, I love Nothing Books, but only if we get to really see inside a character’s head and grow to understand them and their motives, even if it is slow plot-wise. This didn’t give any proper context for why the characters were making the most shady decisions possible and I got zero payoff at the end.
Two stars for the decent prose and symbolism that probably didn’t make it past my frustration while reading.
*Update after I’ve thought it over:
While reading this on vacation was definitely not the proper setting, I still think it would have felt like microdosing my own personal hell in any environment. I didn’t enjoy a single page. The main characters and their relationship felt unreasonable. There were way too many dog beatings and not enough realistic interactions.
Like I’ve said before, I love Nothing Books, but only if we get to really see inside a character’s head and grow to understand them and their motives, even if it is slow plot-wise. This didn’t give any proper context for why the characters were making the most shady decisions possible and I got zero payoff at the end.
Two stars for the decent prose and symbolism that probably didn’t make it past my frustration while reading.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
What a fascinating, haunting book. I believe this is the first Hungarian novel I’ve read, and I can’t stop thinking about the way Szabo (and translator) uses language … the way she pushes all ten fingers inside the hearts of her characters and pulls the flesh aside so we can see the messy, raw truth. My psychology training found the main characters’ dynamic highly troubled; my creative self found the vivid detail of the dynamic fascinating.
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“The old woman was interested only in giving, and if anyone tried to surprise her with something, she never smiled, she flew into a rage.”
I don't really know what to say about this book. The blurb on my edition had me expecting a Slavic version of Rebecca, Gothic vibes and all. It may have been what I wanted to read but this isn't that type of story. It's certainly dark and unsettling though which, coupled with the narrator's bouts of hysteria and Emerence’s rages and random acts of cruelty, made for very difficult reading.
This character-driven book deals with sensitive issues such as acceptance, trust and dignity. Unfortunately, I didn't find either of the characters to be particularly likeable and this marred my enjoyment while reading it. I never felt keen to pick it back up and heaved a huge sigh of relief when it was over. That's not to say it was badly written. I just couldn't deal with the overwhelming feeling of despair that this book seemed to arouse in me.
“Everything has to be done properly, even death.”
I don't really know what to say about this book. The blurb on my edition had me expecting a Slavic version of Rebecca, Gothic vibes and all. It may have been what I wanted to read but this isn't that type of story. It's certainly dark and unsettling though which, coupled with the narrator's bouts of hysteria and Emerence’s rages and random acts of cruelty, made for very difficult reading.
This character-driven book deals with sensitive issues such as acceptance, trust and dignity. Unfortunately, I didn't find either of the characters to be particularly likeable and this marred my enjoyment while reading it. I never felt keen to pick it back up and heaved a huge sigh of relief when it was over. That's not to say it was badly written. I just couldn't deal with the overwhelming feeling of despair that this book seemed to arouse in me.
“Everything has to be done properly, even death.”
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Death
challenging
mysterious
tense
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
frustrating to read, fascinating to think about