Abigail by Magda Szabó
★★★★★ Fourteen year-old Georgina Vitay feels her life is over: her father, a decorated General in Budapest, has decided to send her to boarding school. To Gina, the Bishop Matula Academy (a traditional, religious...
Tagged: magda szabo
Katalin Street by Magda Szabo
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Centered on the 1944 occupation of Hungary and spanning nearly thirty-five years over a handful of chapters, Katalin Street follows three neighboring families during World War II and the...
October 2017: Books to Read and Review
After working through a number of big fall titles, my October stack of books to read has balanced into a nice blend of major literary releases and some smaller-profile titles. I’m particularly curious this month...
Iza’s Ballad by Magda Szabo
★★★★☆ Although not the shimmering, layered masterpiece that is Magda Szabo’s 1987 novel The Door (translated last year to critical acclaim), Iza’s Ballad is an accomplished work of similar emotional weight. Before The Door’s...
November 2016: Books to Read and Review
This month’s book stack is somewhat indicative of a post-Fall-frontlist blues — aside from Zadie Smith’s Swing Time and Michael Chabon’s Moonglow, there’s not a whole lot of showstopping major works on the (immediate) horizon. I kind of...
The Door by Magda Szabo
★★★★★ The shimmering, haunting brilliance of Magda Szabo’s The Door binds like a spell. This is a book to thrust into the hands of everyone you know and love and to clam up trying...
