Reviews

Iza's Ballad by Magda Szabó

alexhaydon's review

Iza’s Ballad is a story of love, grief, nostalgia and misplacement. Ettie is yet again another remarkably human character from Szabo, trying to navigate a world without her soulmate, attempting to know her detached daughter and coming to terms with a bustling Budapest. The lack of communication in this novel left me despairing, especially as we follow Ettie slowly losing her own light as the story goes on…but whilst she is our protagonist, there is a cast of characters surrounding the mother-daughter duo who add the detail and context which make this relationship so much more interesting to examine and immensely authentic. A great novel to follow Pedro Paramo as we come to terms with what it means to relate and dwell on those who have passed on. 

sophie_hamer's review

emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

envenv's review against another edition

4.0

Kitap nerdeyse tüm yabancı baskılarında en az 300 sayfa iken, YKY’nın küçük puntoları ile 223 sayfa. Diyaloğu da az olduğundan okurken biraz boğucu bir his yaratabiliyor.

Roman boyunca insan kendini bir çok noktada “bunu neden konuşmuyorsunuz da susmayı tercih ediyorsunuz” derken buluyor. Konuşulmayıp yanlış anlamaya bırakılan tüm şeyler kitabın kaçınılmaz sonuna doğru tedirgin bir gidişat oluşturuyor. Çoğu durumda da olabilecekler önceden tahmin edilebiliyor. (Sanırım sadece Domokos’un son yaptığı fazlaca şaşırttı beni).

Tüm bunlara rağmen kitap oldukça etkileyici. Hemen hepimizin başına gelebilecek yaygın bir durumu, çok farklı bakış açılarından izleyebilme fırsatı sunuyor.

hollidotcom's review

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

God this was the saddest book I’ve ever read, Szabo makes every character so real 

noillon_'s review

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.75

jinwun's review against another edition

challenging inspiring reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

krobart's review against another edition

4.0

See my review here:

https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2023/05/15/review-2173-izas-ballad/

eliathereader's review against another edition

4.0

2 kişinin birbirine ne kadar yabancılaşabileceğini, kuşak farklılıklarını Mafda Szabo çok güzel işlemiş.

terrypaulpearce's review against another edition

4.0

Magda Szabo understands things so well. She understands aging, and the gulf between the young and the old, and the way the world can leave people behind, and the way that people can have impacts on others quite different to that which they intended, and the way that you can hurt the people you love far more than you could ever hurt anyone else. This book, like the others I've read of hers, is beautiful and sad and true, and you should read it.

amycrea's review against another edition

5.0

Heartbreaking.