Magda Szabó
Hardcover | Pages: 262 pages Rating: 4.06 | 15147 Users | 2045 Reviews
Describe Books In Pursuance Of The Door
| Original Title: | Az ajtó |
| ISBN: | 1843431939 (ISBN13: 9781843431930) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Setting: | Hungary |
| Literary Awards: | Prix Femina for Étranger (2003), Independent Foreign Fiction Prize Nominee for Shortlist (2006), Oxford-Weidenfeld Translation Prize (2006) |
Narration Toward Books The Door
A busy young writer struggling to cope with domestic chores, hires a housekeeper recommended by a friend. The housekeeper's reputation is one built on dependable efficiency, though she is something of an oddity. Stubborn, foul-mouthed and with a flagrant disregard for her employer's opinions she may even be crazy. She allows no-one to set foot inside her house; she masks herself with a veil and is equally guarded about her personal life. And yet Emerence is revered as much as she is feared. As the story progresses her energy and passion to help becomes clear, extinguishing any doubts arising out of her bizarre behaviour. A stylishly told tale which recounts a strange relationship built up over 20 years between a writer and her housekeeper. After an unpromising and caustic start benign feelings develop and ultimately the writer benefits from what becomes an inseparable relationship. Simultaneously we learn Emerence's tragic past which is revealed in snapshots throughout the book.Declare Regarding Books The Door
| Title | : | The Door |
| Author | : | Magda Szabó |
| Book Format | : | Hardcover |
| Book Edition | : | Special Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 262 pages |
| Published | : | October 20th 2005 by Harvill Press (first published 1987) |
| Categories | : | Fiction. Cultural. Hungary. Historical. Historical Fiction. European Literature. Hungarian Literature. Novels. Literary Fiction. Literature |
Rating Regarding Books The Door
Ratings: 4.06 From 15147 Users | 2045 ReviewsWeigh Up Regarding Books The Door
In modern postwar Hungary, an old woman who is now a famous author recalls a nightmare: herself as a young woman. The novel begins after she has passed through a politically frozen time and started to be able to write again and to be publicly lauded for it. She and her husband move up a step on the social ladder. They hire an old woman, Emerence, as a servant. Or is it the other way round? I dont wash just anyones dirty linen, Emerence says, coming to see their flat in her ceremonial headscarfIts a beautiful story of a co-dependent, toxic relationship between a writer and her hired help where a weird power struggle never seems to end. Emerence, the said help, seems to be more in charge than her supposed employers. She is despotic, mysterious and strong-willed. Her employer, the writer and the narrator of this (maybe semi-autobiographical) book seems emotionally volatile which makes her susceptible to Emerences moods and tantrums. Emerence is not a demure servant, she comes and goes
Johannes Brahms can make autumn leaves dance in one of natures most graceful circle. The chill in the air was about to birth the seasons very first snowflake. The clatter of rusty shovels being removed equated to the asinine banters of old women gossiping on the porch. After the death of its final leaf, the trees lay barren like a country that had abruptly lost its people. There were no birds to be seen, yet I heard them chirp a summer song. The fervent barking of a mongrel was followed by a
This is a strange little book translated from Hungarian about the unlikely postwar friendship of Magda( our narrator) a writer married to an academic, and a very secretive illiterate village woman named Remenence , who though hired as a household servant, quickly has them wondering who is really in charge. Reading like a mythic tale full of symbolism , this book chosen by NYT as one of 2015's 10 Best Books (though it was originally written in 1987) is not one of those warm fuzzy books about
Magda Szabó lauded as Hungary's foremost female writer was renowned in Western Europe for her powerful prose and memorable heroines. She won France's Prix Femina Étranger for The Door in 2003; it is considered her most notable achievement. Written in 1987, the Door tells the story of the strange and complicated relationship between two strong women of opposing backgrounds and personalities: Magda-the intellectual,the writer; and Emerence-her mysterious housekeeper, the relentless worker.Emerence
The Door by Magda Szabo is a fictionalized autobiography of the author's relationship with her octogenarian housekeeper named Emerence Szerebas. A goodreads friend from Hungary recommended this novel to me because she sees that I enjoy reading women authors from around the globe. Szabo wrote many prize winning novels during the course of her career, including both this book and the one depicted in it. During the course of this award winning novel, the readers experience post life in post
Magda Szabó's The Door - an intense story, a haunting story, a fiercely compelling story of the relationship between two women living in a Hungarian village: Magda, a married writer and Emerence, a mysterious housekeeper possessing qualities of epic proportions. To my eye the above portrait by Hungarian born artist Csaba Markus captures what Emerence must have looked like as a younger woman. Critical responses to The Door have been dramatic in the extreme: Ali Smith: "a story of such savagery
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