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A review by mszy_reads
The Door by Magda Szabó
5.0
“God usually ignored us when asked for something, but he invariably granted what we feared.”
– Magda Szabó, The Door
Genre: Literary Fiction (and potentially part-memoir)
What I loved about it:
◑ How there was no mystery; simply the raw, unfiltered interactions between two women. It tells the unspoken story of Communist-era Hungarians through the realistic daily life of Magda and Emerence.
◑ The bouts of humor spread between the bleakness of Communist-era Hungarian daily life.
◑ The moral greyness of Emerence’s character. As the story progresses, it unravels more and more pieces of her strongly guarded history and character. I both grieved for her and hated her.
◑ This story does not have a happy ending. It deals with grief and the unrecoverable mistakes we make when we take the people we love for granted. The ending is no surprise. In the very first chapter, Magda states, “I killed Emerence. The fact I was trying to save her rather than destroy her changes nothing.”
While The Door may not have an elaborate plot or a lot of action, the hilarious daily interactions between these women and the mystery of Emerence’s past make it an intriguing story. There are many intense moments sprinkled with heart-warming scenes that made me want to befriend my neighbors. This is a story I want to read every ten years or so and see how my experience of it changes with my age.
TW: Animal abuse (specifically towards a dog), Holocaust mentions (this book is mainly set in post-WWII-era Hungary, so it is highly relevant to the characters and society of the time)
Note: This review is part of my blog post, "My Top 3 Favorite Hard-Hitting 'Modern Classics.'" Check out the full post for other emotional recommendations I have.
Bookstagram: @mszy.reads
– Magda Szabó, The Door
Genre: Literary Fiction (and potentially part-memoir)
What I loved about it:
◑ How there was no mystery; simply the raw, unfiltered interactions between two women. It tells the unspoken story of Communist-era Hungarians through the realistic daily life of Magda and Emerence.
◑ The bouts of humor spread between the bleakness of Communist-era Hungarian daily life.
◑ The moral greyness of Emerence’s character. As the story progresses, it unravels more and more pieces of her strongly guarded history and character. I both grieved for her and hated her.
◑ This story does not have a happy ending. It deals with grief and the unrecoverable mistakes we make when we take the people we love for granted. The ending is no surprise. In the very first chapter, Magda states, “I killed Emerence. The fact I was trying to save her rather than destroy her changes nothing.”
While The Door may not have an elaborate plot or a lot of action, the hilarious daily interactions between these women and the mystery of Emerence’s past make it an intriguing story. There are many intense moments sprinkled with heart-warming scenes that made me want to befriend my neighbors. This is a story I want to read every ten years or so and see how my experience of it changes with my age.
TW: Animal abuse (specifically towards a dog), Holocaust mentions (this book is mainly set in post-WWII-era Hungary, so it is highly relevant to the characters and society of the time)
Note: This review is part of my blog post, "My Top 3 Favorite Hard-Hitting 'Modern Classics.'" Check out the full post for other emotional recommendations I have.
Bookstagram: @mszy.reads