A review by sarireadsthis
The Door by Magda Szabó

4.0

This is a very unusual book. It is very introspective and it takes place in the mind and memories of the narrator. The characters are very imperfect, human, and beautiful. Each layer of the characters is revealed over time as if the writer is establishing trust with us just like Emerence is establishing trust with her.

I spent a lot of time angry at the writer and thinking how stupid she was behaving, especially near the end. But I realized also that it's fine and well for me to judge her, but how good a daughter am I? Would I do anything so differently and be perfect? Perhaps I wouldn't have left Emerence to do an interview or buy her a TV or go to Athens. But I am imperfect too and maybe I don't appreciate my elders as much as I could.

Emerence made me think of my mother, her mortality and my own. I feel I got a glimpse into what it must feel like to age and I feel very changed after reading this.

I really liked this NY Times review of the book and highly recommend it: http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/02/08/books/review/the-door-by-magda-szabo.html?referer=http://www.bing.com/search?q=magda+szabo+the+door&qs=AS&pq=magda+szabo&sk=AS1&sc=5-11&sp=2&cvid=2FBB9927D0B240B0B2001B82112CA21E&FORM=QBLH