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tessreadslibri 's review for:
The Door
by Magda Szabó
What an absolute joy. I think this is one of the most beautiful novels about female friendship I have come across in many years, but it is also so much more than this. Even if you read no further, be in no doubt, I recommend it wholeheartedly.
Szabo's narrative explores the relationship between the younger 'Lady Writer' and Emerence her older neighbour and housekeeper. Their unlikely friendship is not built on what they share or what they have in common but instead their differences. At times it is characterised by such a brutal honesty on Emerence's part that it is perhaps unsurprising that the lady writer may be wary of assuming 'friendship' at all. In the words of the Lady Writer however, the story is incredibly intimate and in places funny, tender and outrageous.
While there are repeated references to Emerence's physical strength, this is nothing to her emotional strength in the face of the many experiences she has endured. Indeed she is a woman of many secrets, which are assumed to lie behind The Door of the title, but this is largely metaphorical symbolising Emerence's preference for privacy and willingness to only part with elements of her story at her own pace. The Due to her age the telling of Emerence's personal narrative also allows for a telling of the broader sweep of Hungarian history with which it coincides and through which it is shaped. This is also true of the lives of other neighbours, the street itself, and of the Lady Writer. The weaving these two registers, the personal and historical is wonderfully done.
While early in the story the narrator, 'confesses' to having killed Emerence, the beauty of the storytelling and the relationship is such that this idea sits quietly in the background until the narrative reaches a point where you begin to understand what she means by this.
Throughout there is something so understated yet absolutely engaging I looked forward to, and made opportunities, to sit down and enter the world of this novel and loved every minute of it.
I listened to the audiobook, a format I'm still adjusting to, and I have to add that Sian Thomas' reading hit the mark completely.
Szabo's narrative explores the relationship between the younger 'Lady Writer' and Emerence her older neighbour and housekeeper. Their unlikely friendship is not built on what they share or what they have in common but instead their differences. At times it is characterised by such a brutal honesty on Emerence's part that it is perhaps unsurprising that the lady writer may be wary of assuming 'friendship' at all. In the words of the Lady Writer however, the story is incredibly intimate and in places funny, tender and outrageous.
While there are repeated references to Emerence's physical strength, this is nothing to her emotional strength in the face of the many experiences she has endured. Indeed she is a woman of many secrets, which are assumed to lie behind The Door of the title, but this is largely metaphorical symbolising Emerence's preference for privacy and willingness to only part with elements of her story at her own pace. The Due to her age the telling of Emerence's personal narrative also allows for a telling of the broader sweep of Hungarian history with which it coincides and through which it is shaped. This is also true of the lives of other neighbours, the street itself, and of the Lady Writer. The weaving these two registers, the personal and historical is wonderfully done.
While early in the story the narrator, 'confesses' to having killed Emerence, the beauty of the storytelling and the relationship is such that this idea sits quietly in the background until the narrative reaches a point where you begin to understand what she means by this.
Throughout there is something so understated yet absolutely engaging I looked forward to, and made opportunities, to sit down and enter the world of this novel and loved every minute of it.
I listened to the audiobook, a format I'm still adjusting to, and I have to add that Sian Thomas' reading hit the mark completely.