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Abigail by Magda Szabó — book review
“In later years, whenever she dreamed of the fortress and the city the wind would always be present, moving restlessly among human figures obscurely glimpsed in the haze.” Abigail follows fourteen-year-old Gina Vitay’s time as a Matula student in the months leading to the German occupation of Hungary. First published fifty years ago, its English…
1940s, 20th century, 3rd pov, 4 STARS, Abigail, academia, all girls school, beautiful prose, boarding/private school, BOOK REVIEWS, bullying, CLASSICS, coming of age, female authors, female friendships, friendships, HISTORICAL FICTION, hungarian author, hungary, introspective, Len Rix, LITERARY FICTION, Magda Szabó, MEMORY, modern classics, MYSTERY, psychological, published in 1970, read in 2020, Religion, teachers, TRANSLATED FICTION, WWII -
The Door by Magda Szabó — book review
“[I]t was as if Emerence turned on her ghostly heel and put two fingers up at our guilty consciences, and our attempts to approach her. Each time it was as if yet another undisclosed facet of her million secrets glittered before us” One of the most obscurely bizarre books I’ve ever read. Moving between the…
1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1st pov, 20th century, 3 STARS, Adult, ALIENATION, ambiguous protagonist, BOOK REVIEW, Booklr, books about writers, class, female doubles, female friendships, feverish, HISTORICAL FICTION, hungarian author, hungary, identity, introspective, LITERARY FICTION, madness, Magda Szabó, MEMORY, obsession, psychological, published in 1987, READ IN 2019, Religion, secretiveness, SUSPENSE, The Door, toxic relationships, tragedy, TRANSLATED FICTION, unnamed narrator