From the Bookshelf of Constant Reader…

Abigail

Magda Szabó,

Len Rix (Translator)

Start date: January 1, 2021

Finish date: January 15, 2021

Discussion: Classics Corner

Discussion leader: Barb

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What Members Thought

Jun 12, 2020 Ken rated it it was amazing

Shelves: finished-in-2020, world-literature

I realize that the gateway drug to Magda Szabó is The Door, but I put the cart before the horse by reading this, which may play second fiddle in most of the reading world but apparently is first in the hearts of Szabó's native Hungary.

Fortunately, I dispensed with Dickens and had no Great Expectations, a favor we should extend to every book, really, though it's hard on Goodreads when you're constantly bombarded with 5-star reviews like this. So please, if you read it, understand that this is an I realize that the gateway drug to Magda Szabó is The Door, but I put the cart before the horse by reading this, which may play second fiddle in most of the reading world but apparently is first in the hearts of Szabó's native Hungary.

Fortunately, I dispensed with Dickens and had no Great Expectations, a favor we should extend to every book, really, though it's hard on Goodreads when you're constantly bombarded with 5-star reviews like this. So please, if you read it, understand that this is an "enjoyment" 5-star review, not a "Wow, Can This Author Write Instant Classics" or even a "This Deserves a Place on the All-Time Shelf" 5-star review.

No, none of that. It's a plot book set in Hungary during WWII. Hungary is one of those Eastern European countries that was first run over by the Nazis and later by the Russkies. Here, it's Germany's turn, and the motherless Gina, a spoiled but strong-willed daughter to a Hungarian general, is subjected to the worst sort of nightmare: She is secretly placed (apparently for her own safety) in a fortress-like, Lutheran school called The Bishop Matula.

Cue Hogwarts when she runs afoul of a group of girls, turning the early plot into a Hungarian Mean Girls episode. But it turns out she has bigger problems than them. There's a resistance movement afoot, and her father is in deep, which means SHE'S in deep.

Meanwhile, the title Abigail. It's a statue in the school. Tradition has it that girls in trouble leave notes for Abigail, who actually responds in writing. A lot of mileage is gained in wondering who the hell Abigail really is amongst the staff (if, indeed, it IS a staff member). And what about moles? Does everyone have Gina's best interests in mind in this school? Weird things begin to go down and discerning readers want to know why.

All in all, it brought me back to my youthful days when reading was just old-fashioned fun. Page-turners. Atmosphere in spades. All in the hands of a writer who knows how to tell a story and hook a reader.

So, yeah. I liked it. As much as Mikey likes Life (a dated reference for American readers who saw commercial television in the 1960s -- the rest of you may pass GO and collect $200).

Better yet? I still have The Door (and maybe a few other Szabó's) to walk through. Sweet! ...more

42 likes · Like · see review

Dec 29, 2020 spoko rated it really liked it

Shelves: history, espionage, book-club, fiction

Suspenseful and engaging; draws you into a world you’re almost certainly not at all familiar with. The narrative does falter a bit, just before the climax, but for the most part it’s well written. Szabó does a great job depicting the false self-assurance of youth, and the tumbling way that it falls into the adult world. I quite often found myself unable to put it down.

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