Welcome to Litsy!

GatheringBooks @vivastory @BarbaraBB @catebutler @Liz_M @sprainedbrain @KVanRead @LeahBergen @Leftcoastzen @daena @arubabookwoman @emilyhaldi @quietjenn @mklong @youneverarrived @Reviewsbylola @batsy @Tanisha_A @Theaelizabet @Billypar @merelybookish @saresmoore @sarahbarnes @readordierachel @DrexEdit @Sapphire 3y

Katalin Street | Magda Szabo

#NYRBBookClub Q6 of 6. @vivastory @BarbaraBB @catebutler @Liz_M @sprainedbrain @KVanRead @LeahBergen @Leftcoastzen @daena @arubabookwoman @emilyhaldi @quietjenn @mklong @youneverarrived @Reviewsbylola @batsy @Tanisha_A @Theaelizabet @Billypar @merelybookish @saresmoore @sarahbarnes @readordierachel @DrexEdit

vivastory On a purely emotional level, I appreciated Iza's Ballad a bit more. Yet, KS does have great moments of emotional depth & a complexity that isn't quite present in IB. I loved them both. 3y

GatheringBooks @vivastory i think you would love The Door even more - that was my introduction to Szabo. 3y

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GatheringBooks Needless to say, I would read anything she writes, @vivastory 🤣🤣🤣📚📚📚 3y

vivastory @GatheringBooks Really?! I'm convinced. I just bought a copy. I will def be reading it in the next month or so. 3y

vivastory She is a new personal fave for sure. 3y

merelybookish I skipped Iza's Ballad when we read it 🙈 so this was my first book by her. I was pretty blown away by it. There was such subtlety in the interplay between past and present and how we would gain insight into characters. So I would like to read more! But would be okay if they weren't all as sad as this one was. 3y

Sapphire I think The Door is sadder, though more mundane. I will admit I suspect there is humor in the Door that I missed in translation. After reading The Door a few years back I didn‘t expect to read more of her, now having read this title- I plan to read Isza‘s Ballad 3y

vivastory @merelybookish Well, if you don't want sad then you might want to wait to read IB. 😬 3y

vivastory @Sapphire I'll be curious to hear what you think of Iza's Ballad. There are several themes in common between IB & KS. 3y

merelybookish @vivastory For some reason, I had the impression IB was less tragic. But good to know one needs to be emotionally prepared to read her. 3y

BarbaraBB Unfortunately I didn‘t read Katalin Street in time so I will get back to the discussion on a later moment. However I loved both The Door and Iza‘s Ballad, the latter being an alltime favorite! 3y

LeahBergen I missed Iza‘s Ballad when the group read it so this is my first by this author. I‘m now a total fan! I have The Door waiting on my shelves and also Abigail. 👍 3y

quietjenn Iza's Ballad was before I joined, but I'm planning to get it - and perhaps the Door as well! 3y

Liz_M I've read The Door, Iza's Ballad, and Katalin Street. IB is by far my favorite. There was something about the structure and the story arc that just worked -- seeing Iza's story from multiple perspectives and the contrast between her past and the present. I thought KS was muddled and unclear as to time and characterization. As for TD, the narrator was too self-absorbed to show a complexity of story, I thought. 3y

vivastory @BarbaraBB I think that you'd enjoy Katalin Street, but just a heads-up, press on until around or 40 or so & things click then! 3y

vivastory @LeahBergen I'm really looking forward to reading The Door 3y

BarbaraBB @vivastory I admit I didn‘t even get to page 40 but I will try again next month. I‘m sure I‘ll love it! 3y

arubabookwoman I wasn't in the club for Iza's Ballad, but I have read it on my own. I have also read Abigail. I liked both of these books very much, but I think Katalin Street is my favorite. I have yet to read The Door. 3y

batsy I liked Iza's Ballad a lot, but not much of it remains with me. This book however hit me like a ton of bricks, for some reason. Something about a tragic event having rippling and lasting effects on multiple lives and even a version of an afterlife that offers no comfort—it's very moving. I'm very much looking forward to The Door and any of her other works (I'm not sure how many there are in translation). 3y

DrexEdit I've read The Door, Iza's Ballad, and now Katalin Street also. I think I would agree that Iza's Ballad is my favorite. It seemed more relatable to modern life, a bit sad, a bit bittersweet, but no major tragedies like war. I agree with @Liz_M that the narrator in The Door was a bit self-absorbed. 3y

Sapphire It always strikes me as interesting how the book you read before a certain book can affect how you approach something. Right before I read the Door, I had been reading The Modern Library series that Ruth Reichel edited. Books about cooking. The Passover of the Lamb and Our Russian Cook. I think the light heartedness of these made me want something redeeming from the cleaner lady who runs the street in The Door. Something I might not have 3y

Sapphire Been looking for, if I had come to it in a different sequence of reading. I did think the middle class lady who owned the house was self absorbed, and that was part of the point. 3y

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Katalin Street | Magda Szabo

#NYRBBookClub Q5 of 6. @vivastory @BarbaraBB @catebutler @Liz_M @sprainedbrain @KVanRead @LeahBergen @Leftcoastzen @daena @arubabookwoman @emilyhaldi @quietjenn @mklong @youneverarrived @Reviewsbylola @batsy @Tanisha_A @Theaelizabet @Billypar @merelybookish @saresmoore @sarahbarnes @readordierachel @DrexEdit

vivastory I think that part of Iren's despair was due to her affection, not love, for Pali. There might also be am element that she has finally received what she has wanted for years but only after countless loss. Then there was the sense that she no longer felt the same way about Balint, or at least not as strongly. 3y

merelybookish It felt like a kind of punishment, like they were still fated to be together, but in misery not in happiness. And maybe Iren doesn't believe she deserves happiness. 3y

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GatheringBooks @merelybookish more like “miserably-ever-after” rather than “happily-ever-after.” The thought of anyone thinking they don‘t deserve happiness is achingly heartbreaking. 💔💔💔 3y

merelybookish @GatheringBooks yes like they are doomed to complete the story, regardless of what it costs. 3y

LeahBergen I thought just what @merelybookish said. Like Ines believed that being with Balint was inevitable and they somehow “owed” it to their shared past. 3y

quietjenn @merelybookish @GatheringBooks yes, a sort of the fates have spoken and this is how the story ends. The air of inevitability. 3y

youneverarrived It did have a sort of inevitably about it @quietjenn. And I agree with @vivastory it felt like part of the despair was because of how much had gone on in the intervening years; it felt like although she still had feelings for Balint they weren‘t the same feelings she had when she was younger. 3y

Liz_M Iren was making a clear choice between a future with a man that was good with her but that would have required breaking with the past. She choose her past, her family, and childhood love. 3y

arubabookwoman I think that had Balint wanted to marry Iren as soon as he returned from the camp, things might have been different. Instead he had all the pointless affairs at the hospital etc. In a sense, I think Iren agreed to marry him when he finally said he was ready to marry her out of a sense of obligation. I don't know if this was in the book or I'm just making it up based on my own prejudices, but I think Balint had a huge ego and was👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻 3y

arubabookwoman ....unreasonable to expect Iren to drop everything and marry him because he was finally ready. 3y

GatheringBooks @arubabookwoman AMEN! I disliked Balint most of all in the book. So entitled. 3y

batsy I agree that Iren probably felt like she deserved no happiness, but she was also single-minded. Like she says that she wasn't looking for a perpetual funfair in life, she wanted only Balint & something that he brought with him—"that inner silence for which, as a child, I had no name for but deeply longed". She thinks being good, clever, & hardworking will get her Balint—and presumably the inner silence that to her appears like a kind of freedom. 3y

youneverarrived @Liz_M that‘s a great point. I do think part of it was she was so attached to the past. 3y

GatheringBooks @batsy that is so beautifully said. A silence that is longed for and provides a sense of freedom - I wonder, though, if she did find it. Or whether that longed for silence will only find her when she is reunited not with Balint but with her long-lost sister. 💔 3y

batsy @GatheringBooks Oh! That does tug at my heart 💔 3y

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Katalin Street | Magda Szabo

#NYRBBookClub Q4 of 6. @vivastory @BarbaraBB @catebutler @Liz_M @sprainedbrain @KVanRead @LeahBergen @Leftcoastzen @daena @arubabookwoman @emilyhaldi @quietjenn @mklong @youneverarrived @Reviewsbylola @batsy @Tanisha_A @Theaelizabet @Billypar @merelybookish @saresmoore @sarahbarnes @readordierachel @DrexEdit

vivastory I initially found this aspect of the narrative disorienting, but once I got my bearings it really added several layers to the story. It reads not like a ghost story but like a story with a ghost, where all of the characters are haunted not by Henriette, but their histories with a small & capital H. The way Szabo managed it was brilliant IMO. 3y

merelybookish @vivastory I like how you said that! It took a bit to understand she was a ghost but then I liked having her perspective, although it was also heartbreaking. It did take the narrative to another level. But maybe made all the lives of the living less sad, knowing they continued to be loved and seen, even if they didn't know it. 3y

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Sapphire It took me a while to realize Henriette was a ghost. I sort of wished the story had been more directly from her point of view, but then we would have missed Iren‘s misery because she defined her life by the social order of the group of kids as much as she did her guilt over the events of that day. She thought her wedding day put her on top. H even as a ghost retained a childlike perception of the people she watched. (edited) 3y

Sapphire @vivastory agree! 3y

vivastory @merelybookish Henriette's perspective was one element that I found really interesting for the reasons that you mention. The passage at the end when she approaches Balint. 💔 💔 3y

vivastory @Sapphire I think it was really wise of Szabo to keep Henrietta at the same age as a ghost, rather than fluctuating in age. It really allowed for an interesting POV. 3y

Sapphire @merelybookish Good point. I do think the idea of the value and importance of “being seen” runs through this book though I hadn‘t thought of it. Each character wants to be seen in. Some way differently than the others see them. That drives their initial actions as well as later ones. Even Pali. 3y

Sapphire @vivastory yes, - the layers as you said. She adds the melancholy tone of the story too, which I think makes this book an important part of holocaust literature. Although I don‘t think this book is about the holocaust really at all. It‘s more just the plot device for how we each interpret our roles in trashed, our roles in family, and our roles in larger society. 3y

vivastory @Sapphire I agree with your comment that it's not about the holocaust. I have read only 2 works by Szabo & they both had the melancholy tone that you mention. It's a really mesmerizing & interesting style. 3y

LeahBergen I found the notion of the ghosts in the afterlife returning to their childhood mindset around their parents somehow so … I don‘t know… disturbing? 😆😆 3y

quietjenn I found it to be such an interesting and poignant take on the afterlife - both comforting and a little heartbreaking. 3y

quietjenn @vivastory and then when Balint observes that he wasn't interested, but couldn't send her away because she reminded him so much of someone he once loved 😩 (edited) 3y

youneverarrived That encounter felt so sad to me. I‘m with the rest of you in that it took a while to get my bearings, I had to go & read the synopsis again (I think without it I wouldn‘t have known she was a ghost at first). 3y

Liz_M I like the concept of Henrietta as a ghost observing and adding a different perspective (similar to Lincoln in the Bardo), but it didn't work at all for me here, I thought the execution was unclear. I was never oriented to whether a particular scene was “real“ or Henrietta's afterlife recreation or a combination or both or something else. 3y

vivastory @quietjenn That scene for me was the second most emotionally devastating one, right behind Blanka telling Iren she boarded up the fence 😭 3y

arubabookwoman I loved the added dimension Henriette's ghost provided to the story (and there have been books that I really disliked having a ghost character, thinking of Sing, Unburied Sing). @LeahBergen I loved that Henriette saw the other characters at all ages, and was amused by her seeing her parents reverting to their childhood selves, and how much that annoyed her. Wouldn't it be cool to be able to see your mom or dad as a kindergartner? 3y

batsy Like @LeahBergen I found the vision of the afterlife somewhat disturbing and quite heartbreaking. The way that this condition of childhood that they returned to means Henriette's parents couldn't behave as parents like they always did. "It was the first time since her childhood that they had failed to give her advice"—and Henriette found it so disorienting that she stopped actively seeking them out. So sad! 3y

batsy That scene with Balint was so sad. That he could not see her for who she was, and that she would never know how he thought about her, that he thought the person he thought was a random girl was "so like someone he had once loved, loved probably more than anyone in his life" and it's her, it's Henriette. So devastating ? 3y

Sapphire I did think the aspect that the departed change in age based on relationship to the interaction was unique. I had not seen that explored in just that way before. The idea that the goths could just imagine.a different memory and inhabit it was oddly disturbing, while it appeared comforting to the character 3y

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Katalin Street | Magda Szabo

#NYRBBookClub Q3 of 6. @vivastory @BarbaraBB @catebutler @Liz_M @sprainedbrain @KVanRead @LeahBergen @Leftcoastzen @daena @arubabookwoman @emilyhaldi @quietjenn @mklong @youneverarrived @Reviewsbylola @batsy @Tanisha_A @Theaelizabet @Billypar @merelybookish @saresmoore @sarahbarnes @readordierachel @DrexEdit

vivastory This is a tough question. I think (or at least my remaining optimism) that most people lean towards Mr. Elekes. They have viewpoints on issues, but these can be reformed when they see people they care about harmed. I found the Major really interesting because he wasn't interested in the glory attached to being a soldier & it seems like later on Balint came to feel the same despite idolizing him when he was younger. 3y

GatheringBooks @vivastory given what is currently happening right now with russia‘s encroachment on ukrainian soil, this question about one‘s moral compass and where it points towards becomes even more germane, I think. Will we be a Mr Elekes or a Major? 3y

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vivastory @GatheringBooks Exactly. Well said. 3y

merelybookish Mr Elkes seems like a rule-based morality and having a trust in institutions. He would not be a proponent of John Lewis's "good trouble." What little we get to know of the Major, he seems more skeptical of authority and institutions. And willing to use his power to aid people with less privilege. 3y

vivastory @merelybookish It made me laugh when it talked about Mr. Elekes being physically ill & having to leave the room if he heard profanity. This seemed to say something about his moral character. 3y

merelybookish @vivastory Haha. Yes isn't he described as priggish at some point? 3y

vivastory @merelybookish I forgot about that, but I think he was. And Iren at the end admits that she has turned into her father.. 3y

LeahBergen Mr Elekes was so upright and moral but ultimately so ineffectual, wasn‘t he? 3y

quietjenn @merelybookish exactly! I actually wish we'd gotten to see a bit more of the Major. 3y

vivastory @LeahBergen Moral but ineffectual. Well said. I think it is easy to have strong moral outlooks & opinions when someone has not been put in situations that challenges their morality &/or threatens their personal safety. 3y

arubabookwoman I think Mr. Elekes had an "Ivory Tower" morality. On an intellectual level, and as a matter of principles he was moral. In the real world, however, he had difficulty acting on those principles. (Although he could take a very strong "moral" stand and kick Blanka out of the house when she did something he considered immoral). 3y

batsy @LeahBergen Well put! That's exactly how I felt about him. And also felt a little bit called out, because for all his reading beneath the bust of Cicero and having ideals and principles in theory, it didn't amount to much in the real world where agonising decisions had to be made. 3y

Sapphire I thought it was interesting that Blanka ended up with the Bust of Cicero 3y

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Katalin Street | Magda Szabo

#NYRBBookClub Q2 of 6. @vivastory @BarbaraBB @catebutler @Liz_M @sprainedbrain @KVanRead @LeahBergen @Leftcoastzen @daena @arubabookwoman @emilyhaldi @quietjenn @mklong @youneverarrived @Reviewsbylola @batsy @Tanisha_A @Theaelizabet @Billypar @merelybookish @saresmoore @sarahbarnes @readordierachel @DrexEdit

vivastory I honestly was a bit skeptical of what Iren said regarding her feelings for Blanka later on in the book. There is a passage where she confesses that she has always loved her more than anyone else, even Balint. I wasn't completely convinced. For me this really added to their complex relationship. Their complex relationship is one of the reasons I had to sit with this book a few days in my mind before I could try to post about it, 3y

Sapphire I wondered if Blanka had Down syndrome in the growing up passages. But that seemed negated in her married years where she was portrayed more as sweet and simple. Everyone on Katalin street feeling justified at slapping Blanka bothered me. 3y

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Sapphire The fact that it was the argument with Iren that spurred Blanka to “fix” up the garden and this trap Henrietta made me feel that Iren‘s feelings for Blanka were shrouded in her own guilt. That is why I think Iren narrates most of all. Each of the characters have their own culpability, even as the war was not their fault. But their passions and search to be best in each other‘s affections facilitated the string of misunderstandings. 3y

Sapphire Even Balint and the major keeping the truth of the danger the helds were in felt to me like it wasn‘t just required secrecy but also part of the emotional manipulation happening between the families. 3y

GatheringBooks @vivastory I think to some degree, I can understand why Iren would say this. I think one can hate as fiercely as one loves - and that is definitely true of the sisters. 3y

merelybookish @Sapphire I wondered that too a bit. Or what they meant by "simple". There were many intriguing moments between them. Their desire to protect each other always seems to cost them. Iren doesn't tell Balint that Blanka nailed the fence boards shut (which maybe creates a wall between them). Then when Blanka punishes Balint for hurting Iren by accusing him of a crime -- which eventually leads to her rejection by the family. 3y

Sapphire @merelybookish the fence imagery is interesting to think about. Lots of metaphorical fences in this novel 3y

vivastory @GatheringBooks I could see that. I wasn't convinced by her statement, but as someone with siblings I did believe her to a certain degree. 3y

quietjenn @vivastory @GatheringBooks I can understand the skepticism, but I think part of it comes from Iren being so reserved in showing her emotions. On the flip side, I've no trouble believing that Blanka loved Iren more than anyone else. 3y

LeahBergen I found the bit where Blanka slips her messy, torn ‘good conduct‘ slips in with Ines‘ so moving! 3y

quietjenn @merelybookish @Sapphire I think Blanka's view of the world is very simple and perhaps childlike, in the sense that a) things (/people/events) are good or bad and b) there isn't any thought about consequences or nuance. Iren wants to be star pupil - give her your gold cards. Balint is sad - comfort him. Balint hurt Iren - get him in trouble. Those girls at the office mean to you - accuse them too. 3y

youneverarrived I think Blanka showed her love for Iren in ways that she thought would help Iren but actually caused more harm - the certificates she puts in her bag, tidying up the garden, getting rid of Balint. Like @quietjenn said, quite childlike in some ways. The bond between them was vivid but their personalities were very contrasting which was interesting. 3y

vivastory @LeahBergen I found that scene moving as well, although in the later context of the novel it was a little troubling 3y

vivastory @quietjenn I agree about Blanka loving Iren more. What is interesting to me is the ways that her love sometimes manifested as she tried to please Iren with terrible decisions. She seemed desperate to please her. 3y

vivastory @youneverarrived I completely agree with your point. Blanka was so desperate to please Iren that she often either didn't stop to think of the consequences, or they were secondary to her being in Iren's good graces. It's interesting to wonder how reserved Iren was vs. how much she might have been withholding affection towards Blanka in order to manipulate her. 3y

arubabookwoman Iren was always so careful and wanted to do the "correct" thing, while Blanka was impulsive and acted from her heart, for better or worse, without considering the consequences. More than once her actions were misconstrued by Iren or others, or actually were severely harmful (nailing the loose fence shut). I particularly liked Blanka giving Iren her good conduct commendations. 3y

arubabookwoman @vivastory I don't think Iren was trying to manipulate Blanka, but I do think she was in competition with Blanka for her parents' love. She long recognized that Blanka was her mother's favorite, and I think she was particularly devastated to realize Blanka was also her father's favorite. 3y

GatheringBooks @arubabookwoman indeed! Add the fact that Iren strived so hard to be the perfect child. I also wonder about Iren‘s angry outbursts that the entire family tolerates because they are few & far between, & to some extent expected. I think that is the only avenue for Iren to really just let go of everything, scream her lungs out, release her pent up frustration/pain with her sister being gone. I think it is more yearning for Blanka than anything else. 3y

batsy I agree @GatheringBooks I think love between sisters can be so fierce/difficult. I felt like the balance of power between older and younger sisters was perfectly observed here and it's that incident with the commendation cards that stands out. Blanka in her naive innocence wanted to help her sister and win her love and bungled it, and to Iren though she could recognise the intention it still filled her with anger and maybe the futility of it all. 3y

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GatheringBooks, vivastory

Katalin Street | Magda Szabo

#NYRBBookClub Q1 of 6.

vivastory

vivastory One of the moments for Balint is def. the play that is organized by Mr. Elekes in the major's honor. It was def a pivotal scene, even if Szabo tells us that none of the other characters other than Balint would recall it later in life. For Iren, receiving commendation cards that she hadn't earned was another pivotal moment. There's an interesting echo of it later in the novel when Mr. Elekes & her receive an award & she discovers afterwards that 3y

vivastory Blanka helped make it happen. The discussion has started @sapphire but feel free to weigh in when is convenient for you. (edited) 3y

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Sapphire One pivotal moment for me captured how our identity or sense of identity affects these moments was near the end. When Iren leaves a happy marriage to remarry Balint even though she no longer believes they are soul mates, it resonates on how people make choices that fit their narrative even when they purport to want something different. Iren‘s identity still revolves around jockeying for her place in the affections of Katalin 3y

merelybookish The back garden where the children played and then where Henriette is killed and then where she returns to again and again in the final chapter. A place of such innocence and then of its loss. 3y

GatheringBooks @vivastory i remember that scene vividly, too. Turns our Balint is not the only one who remembers it, I think. Henriette had that burned in her mind too. May be that pivotal moment for all three female characters (Blanka, Henriette, and Iren) when they all fell more or less in love with Balint. 3y

vivastory @GatheringBooks Yes, it did seem to be pivotal for all 4 of them. On the surface it seemed somewhat minor, but it def shaped them. 3y

vivastory @Sapphire This is a great point. I agree. I do think that one of the primary reasons Iren chose Balint in the end was because it was part of her narrative in her head, even if long delayed. 3y

youneverarrived @merelybookish I was going to say the same. The game they played seemed to hold a lot of meaning for Henriette; like you say, such innocence and then a place of loss that stays with all of the characters. 3y

youneverarrived And I loved this line. I think it‘s true. It‘s not always the big moments that you think will leave an impact either. 3y

quietjenn I think everyone has identified the moments that I would point to - the play, playing Cherry Tree in the garden, when Henriette is killed there. Although I would maybe expand them to say the entire day those things happened? The entire scene of the Held's first coming to Katalin Street; the actions that lead up to Henriette's death and interactions between characters that follow. 3y

quietjenn Others that seemed key - the initial day of engagement (and when the Helds are taken) and when Blanka accuses Balint. For places, I'd add Blanka's apartment, which Balint takes over. 3y

quietjenn @youneverarrived those first two pages just had so much wisdom and resonance. 3y

LeahBergen Those first few pages were so powerful and even more so when I reread them immediately upon finishing the novel. 3y

vivastory @LeahBergen Yes, as others mentioned I also immediately reread the opening pages after finishing. 3y

Liz_M I'm not sure if we're ever shown a scene for why this particular location mattered, but the father's desk with the bust is recreated in the apartment (used by Irene) and I think Blanka also recreates the idea of it in her island home. 3y

arubabookwoman I agree with all the moments mentioned so far as pivotal. One further moment/event is when Balint goes to the museum where Iren is on a class trip with her students to tell her he's ready to marry her. Iren begins to cry; she knows she will leave her husband and marry Balint even though she also knows it may not be the best choice. 3y

arubabookwoman Just wanted to add that I'm sorry for chiming in so late here, we had a family thing most of the day. I really loved this book (once I got into it--I was very confused in the beginning), and I'm so glad it was chosen! 3y

GatheringBooks @arubabookwoman yes!!! That museum scene was so poignant. What a proposal, indeed, to render one so miserable and helpless in saying yes, because saying no is unthinkable. 3y

batsy I agree with @vivastory I think the play was one of those moments. Although it's rarely something that comes up in other people's memories, I feel like a lot of how they came to see themselves and each other (rightly or wrongly) crystallised during the staging of the play. And going by the title I think the street itself, the garden, the places that are most memorable are where we grew up as kids—and the tragedy that occurred there. 3y

GatheringBooks @batsy there is something about the places where we grew up in that would forever remain indelible in our consciousness, I think, regardless of where life takes us. 💕 3y

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Leftcoastzen

Katalin Street | Magda Szabo

pick

#NYRBBookClub I was very moved by this tale of neighbors who seemed content & intertwined before World War II .War will reshape their world forever, some will not survive & those who do will feel the altered world of occupation.
You feel their hopes & aspirations, share their memories of a world that no longer exists.As I was reading this I was overwhelmed thinking about families & neighbors,experiencing this right now , in Ukraine.Great pick .

GatheringBooks I know exactly what you mean. Looking forward to our discussion in a few hours‘ time. 📚📚📚 3y

batsy Particularly poignant to read it this week 💔 3y

vivastory Great review & this def resonated strongly considering current events 💔 3y

Sapphire @batsy so true 3y

58 likes4 comments

quietjenn

Katalin Street | Magda Szabo

pick

Compelling and beautifully written, with deep things to say about the nature of life - how we are shaped and defined by our memories of experiences as much as the events themselves. Bleak, but not hopeless, just matter of fact. I'll definitely be seeking out more by Szabo. #nyrbbookclub

Tamra I have this TBR, sounds like from your review I need to get a copy soon! (edited) 3y

arubabookwoman I loved it too! 3y

vivastory I will also be reading more. She's a new fave. I loved the other Szabo that out group read

Iza's Ballad

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quietjenn @Tamra I think it is well worth the time! 3y

quietjenn @arubabookwoman Yay! I'm so glad it was chosen, as I'm not sure I'd have ever picked it up on my own. 3y

quietjenn @vivastory I just might have to pick that one up, the next time I go on an NYRB binge. I do own at least one other (tagged) so that will probably be the one I try next (although who knows when I will get to it).

Abigail

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youneverarrived

Katalin Street | Magda Szabo

pick

A bleak and quiet sort of novel that speaks about the ways in which lives are changed during war and the aftermath of it. The sense of community and family was palpable. The ghost character of Henriette shows how much people, events and memories stay with us. It was beautifully told and I liked it a lot, although I didn‘t find it overly immersive. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ #nyrbbookclub

GatheringBooks, vivastory

squirrelbrain Great review Katie. How are you doing? 😘 3y

youneverarrived @squirrelbrain thank you! ♥️ I‘m really good, maternity leave starts early April so looking forward to that! How are you? 3y

squirrelbrain So your due date is some time in April then? Exciting! 3y

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GatheringBooks Happy to see you liked it! Looking forward to our discussion in a few hours. Happy infanticipating!! 3y

vivastory I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed this one 3y

youneverarrived @squirrelbrain it‘s not until 20th June but I‘m taking a few weeks holiday before I officially start maternity, just so I can get a few things organised before baby arrives 🤍 3y

youneverarrived @GatheringBooks looking forward to it too! Thank you ♥️ 3y

youneverarrived @vivastory I think it will be one made even better by discussing it 3y

squirrelbrain That‘s a good idea Katie - it‘ll be even more work (and fun!) with two! 3y

youneverarrived @squirrelbrain oh definitely 😆 I‘m getting in all the reading time while I can! 3y

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batsy

Katalin Street | Magda Szabo

pick

This was a cryptic read at the start; it was a little hard to get my bearings. Then the story began to take shape & the characters became alive. When I finished I went right back to the beginning & to re-read Blanka's chapter. It's an incredibly sad story; just quietly devastating. There's no easy hope being peddled here, no redemption. Just the grim realities of lives upended from war & occupation & the steep costs of living 💔 #nyrbbookclub

batsy @GatheringBooks @vivastory 3y

youneverarrived It took me a while to get my bearings at the start too, and I went back and read Blankas chapter at the end 🤍 3y

batsy @youneverarrived Yes, it somehow feels like coming full circle to go back and read that chapter. But even more heartbreaking. 3y

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merelybookish Beautifully said. No hope or redemption. This is a beautifully told story but it isn't meant to reassure you. 3y

vivastory Wonderfully stated. Szabo really is great at these narratives that don't soften difficult realities. 3y

Leftcoastzen Great review. I‘m not done yet , it‘s intense. 3y

sprainedbrain I did the same thing… right back to the beginning when I finished. 💔 3y

batsy @merelybookish Thank you! I appreciated the total lack of sentimentality even while she could depict how important these people were to each other. 3y

batsy @vivastory Thanks! I'm really keen to read The Door at some point. 3y

batsy @Leftcoastzen Thank you! Intense sums it up. 3y

batsy @sprainedbrain I'm intrigued to hear that some of us did the same! Somehow it invites us to go back to the beginning. 3y

arubabookwoman I did the sane (back to reread the beginning after finishing the book). I loved it! (edited) 3y

GatheringBooks Love all the comments here - they all reflect exactly how I feel about the book. Looking forward to our Litsy book party discussion in a few! I know it‘s a bit late for you, @batsy time wise, but really keen to hear your thoughts once you find the time. 💕💕💕 3y

batsy @arubabookwoman It's pretty brilliantly structured. I loved it too. 3y

batsy @GatheringBooks Thank you! I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's thoughts, as well. I might get to it late but I hope to join in when I can 💜 3y

vivastory I def plan on reading both The Door & Abigail. She's a new favorite for me. 3y

103 likes2 stack adds16 comments

merelybookish

Katalin Street | Magda Szabo

pick

This book examines the fallout of WWII & years of Soviet occupation on three households on an idyllic street in Budapest. It is beautifully written & very sad. It does not shrink from the truth that one horrible event can haunt people forever. That's a simplistic description of a nuanced novel about complicated truths. Reading it in light of what's happening in the Ukraine felt particularly poignant. 😞
@vivastory @GatheringBooks #nyrbbookclub

Tamra 😑 3y

batsy Great review. I was thinking the same. I finished it the night before Ukraine was invaded and just felt a terrible sadness. 3y

merelybookish @batsy Yes. I kept thinking there's people's in houses on a street in Kviv whose lives are being irrevocably changed. 3y

GatheringBooks Gosh, indeed, who would have thought that historical fiction novels such as this one will become “contemporary” yet again? 3y

vivastory I'm looking forward to the discussion. A powerful, layered novel. 3y

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LeahBergen

Katalin Street | Magda Szabo

And here I go with this month‘s #NYRBBookClub pick (my first read by this author).

batsy I'm about halfway through and it's really sad 😞 3y

73 likes1 comment

sprainedbrain

Katalin Street | Magda Szabo

pick

Such beautiful writing, and such an incredibly dark, depressing story. I missed reading Iza‘s Ballad with the #NYRBBookClub a couple of years ago, but I definitely need to read more from this author. Looking forward to the discussion next weekend.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

GatheringBooks, vivastory

vivastory I'm glad you liked this one! I really enjoyed it & am looking forward to the discussion. I think you'd really enjoy Iza's Ballad. 💔 3y

BarbaraBB I loved Iza but I couldn‘t get into this one. I will definitely read it in the near future but I felt too restless to concentrate on Katalin Street right now. 3y

GatheringBooks Such lyrical prose even with such a dark theme, right? Truly looking forward to our discussion in a few hours. 💕💕💕📚📚📚 3y

86 likes3 comments

readordierachel

Katalin Street | Magda Szabo

This weekend, I've been reading the two pictured books, and a couple of stories by Rebecca Roanhorse for class. All good! #weekendreading

readordierachel @Addison_Reads 3y

vivastory I hope you are enjoying the Szabo 👍 3y

Addison_Reads Thanks for sharing. 💚 Happy Reading! 3y

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readordierachel @vivastory I am! I read The Door and remember liking it, but it was a while ago. This is making me want to revisit it. 3y

readordierachel @Addison_Reads 🤗 3y

sarahbarnes I read Black Sun by Roanhorse and liked it. And I‘m really liking Katalin Street so far, too. I liked The Door a lot as well. 3y

readordierachel @sarahbarnes I just picked up a copy of Black Sun not too long ago. Looking forward to it! 3y

56 likes7 comments

BarbaraBB

Katalin Street | Magda Szabo

#BookReport 06/22 #WeeklyForecast 07/22

A combined book report and forecast. I just finished To Paradise so I have at last read two books during the past week. Next week will be filled with books for #ReadingAfrica2022, #NYRBBookclub, and #ToB22 buy first I have to read We Slaves of Surinam for my new bookclub. A tough one about my country‘s infamous past.

Cinfhen

vivastory Hope you like Katalin Street! 3y

BarbaraBB @vivastory I have high hopes of course! 3y

Suet624 Enjoy!! 3y

77 likes3 comments

Sapphire

Katalin Street | Magda Szabo

pick

I find this a much more engaging book than The Door, which I read by Szabo in the past. It‘s hard to say enjoy for a book like this, but I feel more developed as a reader and as a person for having encountered these characters and their lives and reactions to the horrors they endured. #nyrbbookclub

vivastory

BarbaraBB Looking forward to it! I especially loved

Iza's Ballad

Sapphire I just read the description of Izas Ballad and now I must read that one too! 3y

vivastory Wonderful review! I hope you join the discussion on 2-27! 3y

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Sapphire @vivastory I would like to! 3y

Sapphire @vivastory can you tag me or do I tag myself? I have not participated in a group discussion on litsy before but I read this in order to be able to 3y

vivastory We will add you to the list of people to tag 👍 3y

Sapphire @vivastory thanks! 3y

17 likes7 comments

Sapphire

Katalin Street | Magda Szabo

It is always the most inexplicable things that make us lose self-control.

9 likes

The_Penniless_Author

Katalin Street | Magda Szabo

#wondrouswednesday @Eggs

1. Tagged. Not necessarily the next one I'll read, but it is at the top 🙂
2. No. Still working on stuff published 20+ years ago 😂
3. The Pillars of the Earth

TheSpineView Loved The Pillars of the Earth! 3y

The_Penniless_Author @TheSpineView I love it too, but it's taken me a month to get just past the halfway mark. Last year I would have finished it already. Maybe this is not my year for chunksters 🤔 3y

RaeLovesToRead I'm also working my way through the literary ages 😄 It's only been since joining Litsy that I've started wanting books hot off the press... I blame all the pictures of lovely new books 😊 3y

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The_Penniless_Author @RaeLovesToRead Same. Litsy's the only reason I know most newer books exist. But I also find a lot of older books here too that I never heard of before, and that's what I usually end up choosing 😅 3y

RaeLovesToRead Ha! Yes! Just give us ALL THE BOOKS!! 😁 3y

TheSpineView @The_Penniless_Author I get that! 3y

Eggs Thanks for joining in 🥰📚🥳 3y

38 likes7 comments

Sapphire

Katalin Street | Magda Szabo

“THE PROCESS of growing old bears little resemblance to the way it is presented, either in novels or in works of medical science.” #greatfirstlines #nyrbbookclub

merelybookish, vivastory

11 likes

Katalin Street | Magda Szabo

Getting ready for our upcoming #NYRBBookClub title for February. Paired with burrata salad with pomegranate seeds, peach slices, dry figs, kale leaves, focaccia bread, walnuts and all yumminess.

Tamra Serious yum! 3y

DrexEdit Those are some beautifully poached eggs! 😋 3y

SRWCF So healthy looking! 3y

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GatheringBooks @DrexEdit it‘s actually burrata cheese! 💕💕💕 3y

DrexEdit Cheese!!? Even better! 😄🧀🧀💜😋 3y

BookBabe Looks yummy. What does #NYRBBookClub stand for? 3y

sarahbarnes Looking forward to this one! 3y

BarbaraBB Looking forward to the book! 3y

vivastory Looking forward to co-hosting with you again! Iza's Ballad remains a favorite. 3y

GatheringBooks @BookBabe it‘s a book club that @vivastory started nearly two years back! One of the most engaged and fun book groups here on Litsy. 💕 3y

BookBabe Sounds nice…What do the letters stand for? 3y

GatheringBooks @BookBabe nyrb is a publisher: new york review of books - https://www.nyrb.com 3y

BookBabe @GatheringBooks thank you 3y

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GatheringBooks @BarbaraBB @catebutler @daena @arubabookwoman @emilyhaldi @quietjenn @sprainedbrain @KVanRead @mklong @youneverarrived @LeahBergen @Leftcoastzen @Liz_M @merelybookish @readordierachel @saresmoore @sarahbarnes @Reviewsbylola @batsy @Tanisha_A @Theaelizabet @Billypar 3y

Katalin Street | Magda Szabo

#NYRBBookClub people - hosted by @vivastory - here are my February picks: Do choose the one that stands out for you. @BarbaraBB @catebutler @daena @arubabookwoman @emilyhaldi @quietjenn @sprainedbrain @KVanRead @mklong @youneverarrived @LeahBergen @Leftcoastzen @Liz_M @merelybookish @readordierachel @saresmoore @sarahbarnes @Reviewsbylola @batsy @Tanisha_A @Theaelizabet @Billypar

Love in a Fallen City

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GatheringBooks All three novels are written by female authors and are translated into English from other languages: French, Hungarian, and Chinese language (not sure whether “Love in A Fallen City” was written in Mandarin or Cantonese). 3y

sarahbarnes Great selections! I chose

batsy Some interesting choices! My vote is for

merelybookish These do sound great! I'm voting for

Love in a Fallen City

quietjenn Oh, what interesting options! I vote for

Love in a Fallen City

mklong Ooh what interesting choices, I vote

emilyhaldi I‘ll vote 🤗

LeahBergen I‘ll pick the one I own 😄

BarbaraBB Great explanation why you chose these three! I can‘t resist Szabo so my vote is for

Billypar I want to read all three, so I can't lose! But I'll go with

catebutler My vote is for

youneverarrived I‘ve read Love in a Fallen City and enjoyed it! My vote is for

Liz_M I want to vote for all three! 3y

arubabookwoman I vote for #KatalinStreet (if it's mot too late to vote). 3y

GatheringBooks @daena @sprainedbrain @KVanRead @Leftcoastzen @readordierachel @saresmoore @Reviewsbylola @Tanisha_A @Theaelizabet - hello you all! Here‘s hoping you can choose your feb pick in this selection of #nyrbbookclub titles here 💕📚🧚🏻‍♀️ 3y

GatheringBooks @vivastory - do you get to choose too? Or will you serve as the tie breaker for close votes? 💕🥰🧚🏻‍♀️📚 3y

Leftcoastzen Gaak ! I voted in my brain but didn‘t post😳I plead holiday brain

vivastory For some reason I didn't get your notification until now!! 😬Let me see... 3y

vivastory I vote for