so-soI found the pace of this book incredibly slow. A lot of the book is centered around Gina‘s attempts to fit in at a restrictive girls‘ school and her feelings that her father has abandoned her. There is a lot of petty squabbling among the girls. Also, the mystery of Abigail is not very hard to figure out. 3âï¸
But as she warmed to her task and became absorbed in the essay - it was one that every school child in the country was asked to write in November 1943 - she found her buoyant mood fading. Looking along the rows of heads bent over exercise books she thought of how, back in the dormitory, the girls talked about absolutely everything but the war.
I signed up for the New York Review of Books subscription program in November. I kept writing to them because I hadn‘t received any books. I‘ve been away from my apartment for two weeks and when I returned these books and a lovely tote bag were all waiting for me. I ordered a Month in the Country separately for our Litsy NYRB book club‘s February selection. #NYRBbookclub
My B&N mini haul from last week. I needed to get out of the apartment for something other than grocery shopping and picked up this little haul, including a sticker & activity book for my niece's birthday. (No, really, it's for her! I swear! ðŸ˜) The tagged book was on a bookseller recommendation display and since it's #witmonth I figured it was meant to be mine.
pickGina is a 15 year old whose mother has died and whose father is an officer in the Hungarian army. For her own safety, he sends her to an extremely strict religious school across the country. There she struggles to understand her banishment and how to fit in with the arcane rules and the other students. Will the mysterious Abigail help her? You‘ll have to read it to find out! ðŸ˜
pickA lovely coming of age story. Gina is puzzled when her General father sends her to a cloistered boarding school across the country during WW II. After her sophisticated life in Budapest, she has a hard time fitting in, as the dangers of the war move inexorably closer, and she learns the true reasons for her exile. #ReadingEurope2020 Hungary @BarbaraBB
pickLOVE LOVE LOVE this author. Story of a girl who is enrolled/hidden in a remote religious institution because her father-a general-is rightly concerned that when the Nazis take Hungary, they will torture his child (Gina) to make him reveal the other dissenters. Of course I love Eastern Europe and Szabo was a fantastic author. Only wish more of her work was in translation.
pick5âï¸ The General‘s daughter was sent to this strict boarding school. Typically, she didn‘t like it at first until she realized that she had no choice but to adapt. When the girls felt lost, they consulted the magical Abigail statue, who would really rescue them. So who is this Abigail? I love this warm and funny coming-of-age story; the suspense was keeping me on my toes and made this a wonderful read
so-soI really liked reading this book. It was enjoyable from the start and through to the end. Rich characters, sharp setting, good dramas.
What I can‘t quite discern is how the mystery should be understood. The “surprising†revelation at the end seemed quite obvious. So obvious that I assumed it was intended as such. But if so, why did we not hear more about Gina‘s change after she saw what we‘d anticipated all along?
So I'm only about halfway through, and it's only February but I'm pretty sure this will be one of the best books I read this year. It really feels like it should be required reading. So I already bought The Door also by Szabo in anticipation of wanting to read more by her.
pickI read a good amount of fiction set in WWII, as well as history books on the time period. I don‘t believe I have ever read a book set in Hungary during the war. This novel tells the story of a daughter of a Hungarian General. He sends her to a religious boarding school to get her out of harm‘s way during the war. I loved this coming of age story, even though I thought I was done with coming of age stories. I loved it.
pickComing of age story set during WWII in Hungary, but so much more than just the story of a young girl.
Gina is sent away to The Matula, an all-girls boarding school, and is soon ostracized and plans her escape.
But the real reason behind her being sent away is slowly revealed, and the teachers are involved.
Gets slow in the middle and has a bent toward YA, but definitely worth the read.
Thanks to Edelweiss!
pickI read this so long ago but I remembered the secret of the statue, and I think it just made it more interesting that I knew it all along and I could pay attention to smaller details. I think it's a really interesting historical fiction / YA novel. #hungarian
★★★★☆
I think this will be my next #audiobook. I remember reading this as a kid and loving it. It's even a compulsory read in some schools here. I think it's been translated to English so I can recommend it to everyone! #youngadult #hungarian
Abigél | 
