The Door (NYRB Classics) (1987 original; edició 2015)

Emerence avait établi une clause stipulant qu’elle tiendrait le premier rôle dans la vie de ceux qui l’aimaient, et parmi ceux qu’elle considérait comme importants, seul le chien trouvait cela normal, il respectait cette clause, même lorsqu’il avait mordu la vieille femme.
(p. 223, “Surprise de Noël”).

Un beau succès de librairie que ce roman, mais une note de lecture difficile à écrire. L’histoire est tellement étrange, le personnage principal, Emerence, la concierge et domestique, la narratrice, sa patronne, et leur relation ambiguë, faite d’amour et de haine, de compréhension et d’incompréhension, de soutien et de petite ou grande trahison.
Une histoire qui ne résonne pas avec ma vie ou mes expériences , une relation forte mais qui me met mal à l’aise. Ce fut un moment de lecture étrange. Ni bon ni mauvais, juste à côté, si cela a un sens. Ai-je aimé ou pas, je n’en sais même rien.

Fremragende, dyb menneskelig indsigt, vi møder en kvinde man aldrig før har truffet eller vil træffe, fortvivlende omstændigheder gjorde hende umedgørlig og til et rent og helt usædvanligt menneske. ( )

I was absolutely hooked by the intimately confessional style of this book wherin the narrator charts the course of her relationship over several years with her cleaning lady. The book is rather sad, immensely touching and yet somehow, sometimes almost comical (especially regarding Emerence's chastisement of the loyal Viola). Often whilst reading I would recognise parts of myself or of others within the story and I think this for me is what gives the book its fifth star - the ability of the author to so eloquently express our almost universal past failings, secrets and shame and our need for, if not forgiveness and absolution, then at least understanding.

( )

I offer a humble, dissenting view, without wishing to overturn the court's decision entirely: 'The Door' is over-rated. Szabo certainly gives us two memorable characters, and it's surely nice to get some intelligent books by women in translation. On the other hand, as a friend pointed out, this isn't exactly technical wizardry; large portions of the book feel like they were written by someone entirely unfamiliar with the uses and problems of first-person narrative. The foreshadowing is tiresome and silly. The plot creaks along, pointing to itself at every possible opportunity. The prose* is dreary. The dialogue is stilted and manages to sound like neither actual human beings talking, nor someone creating in writing a conversation between characters.

Well, well, people don't care. They should, though, at least care about the romanticisation of poverty and the idealization of ye olde country folk.

The book is excellent on the difficulties modernisation posed (poses) for people, problems that no doubt effect Hungary even more than Western European or Anglophone countries. Another review tells me that this will be turned into a movie, and I'll gladly watch it, because this is a movie in book form, for better (vivid, character-driven, plotty) or worse (stylistically dull, often simplistic, melodramatic).


*: with the usual caveat that this might be the translator's fault. Rix's translation of Szerb's 'Journey by Midnight' was a great deal more attractive, though, so perhaps he's just accurately rendering the book's prose. Perhaps, if I'm really digging deep, the fact that the narrator is in film is meant to be mirrored in her lack of feeling for language. ( )

The reviews sounded interesting -- a friendship between a female writer and her head-strong, opinionated housekeeper. Set in Hungary after the Communists, Magna hired Emerence as her house-keeper. The rest of the story is the development of their complicated and mutual love and dislike for each other. Emerence is a worker and everyone in the community somehow depends on her. She does not understand anything about the importance of Magna's writing. According to Emerence, there are two people in the world: those who sweep and those that boss the sweepers. Emerence is a sweeper.

In spite of rave reviews, I really can't say I understood the relationship. Magna develops a strange sense of responsibility to Emerence and the dog "Viola" who Magna rescues but who loves Emerence. I'm supposing there is far more here than meets my eye. ( )