L'ultima opera scritta dalla scrittrice ungherese Magda Szabó (1917-2007). Doveva far parte di un trittico autobiografico rimasto inattuato, seppure "Per Elisa" è in sé completo. Viene considerato in patria il capolavoro della scrittrice, il degno lascito prima della compianta scomparsa. La storia di "Per Elisa" avviene tra il 1917 e il 1935, e segue la vita della scrittrice fino all'esame di maturità. I genitori assicurano alla loro brillante ma cocciuta figlia di poter godere di un'eccezionale gioventù. La giovane Magda non era una ragazzina facile da controllare. Ebbe un periodo molto difficile a scuola con i suoi insegnanti, cui rispondeva con azioni di sfida e vendetta. Nell'appassionata prosa di Magda Szabó riusciamo a vedere una fantasiosa studentessa, esperta di cultura classica, fiduciosa nelle proprie capacità, che fa la sua prima conoscenza con l'amore.
Magda Szabó was a Hungarian writer, arguably Hungary's foremost female novelist. She also wrote dramas, essays, studies, memories and poetry.
Born in Debrecen, Szabó graduated at the University of Debrecen as a teacher of Latin and of Hungarian. She started working as a teacher in a Calvinist all-girl school in Debrecen and Hódmezővásárhely. Between 1945 and 1949 she was working in the Ministry of Religion and Education. She married the writer and translator Tibor Szobotka in 1947.
She began her writing career as a poet, publishing her first book Bárány ("Lamb") in 1947, which was followed by Vissza az emberig ("Back to the Human") in 1949. In 1949 she was awarded the Baumgarten Prize, which was--for political reasons--withdrawn from her on the very day it was given. She was dismissed from the Ministry in the same year.
During the establishment of Stalinist rule from 1949 to 1956, the government did not allow her works to be published. Since her unemployed husband was also stigmatized by the communist regime, she was forced to teach in an elementary school during this period.
Her first novel, Freskó ("Fresco"), written in these years was published in 1958 and achieved overwhelming success among readers. Her most widely read novel, Abigél ("Abigail", 1970), is an adventure story about a schoolgirl boarding in eastern Hungary during the war.
She received several prizes in Hungary, and her works have been published in 42 countries. In 2003, she was the winner of the French literary prize Prix Femina Étranger for the best foreign novel.
Her novel Abigél was popularized through a much-loved television series in 1978. Abigél was also chosen as the sixth most popular novel at the Hungarian version of Big Read. Her three other novels that were in the top 100 are Für Elise, An Old-Fashioned Story, and The Door.
I feel so small and shriveled in front of such works..... I read with a knot in my stomach everything that Szabo shared with the reader, this autobiography is a real novel.... brutal, extreme, sublime and complex. A wonderful work but really hard and glacial to go through, all in a complex and magnificent writing, rich in references to hundreds of European works and seasoned with continuous phrases in Latin. I really wonder, how a woman so wise, cultured but also biting in sin could have fallen from the sky by God... Yes, this passage has left me most upset, because everything can be read and glimpsed in this unstoppable writer, among the greatest of the last century, but the dryness of the lack of the sense of forgiveness has dug so deep into this soul that it also hunts the reader.... I closed the book feeling a boulder on me.
Mi sento così piccola e striminzita di fronte a tali opere..... ho letto con un nodo allo stomaco tutto ciò che la Szabo ha condiviso con il lettore, questa autobiografia è un vero e proprio romanzo.......brutale, estremo,sublime e complesso. Un' opera meravigliosa ma veramente dura e glaciale da percorrere, il tutto in una scrittura complessa e magnifica, ricca di riferimenti a centinaia di opere europee e condita di continuo di frasi in latino. Mi chiedo veramente, come possa essere caduta dal cielo una donna così sapiente, colta ma anche graffiante nel peccato.... Sì, questo passaggio è quello che piu' mi ha lasciata sconvolta, perchè tutto si può leggere e intravvedere in questa scrittrice inarrivabile, tra le piu grandi del secolo scorso, ma l'aridità della mancanza del senso del perdono ha scavato così in profondità in questa anima che bracca anche il lettore..... ho chiuso il libro sentendomi addosso, un macigno.
"Le Parche hanno tessuto i miei giorni con un filo straordinariamente multicolore." Sembra un romanzo "Per Elisa", eppure è il racconto della giovinezza della Szabó. Tra queste pagine troviamo una ragazzina che cresce in mezzo alle fiabe e alla mitologia, e che da quelle storie adatterà tutta la sua realtà, troviamo l'Ungheria della prima metà del Novecento, sconfitta, mutilata, e, fra le persone che hanno fatto parte della sua vita, troviamo anche gran parte dei protagonisti dei suoi romanzi. In queste settimane in cui ho quasi vissuto interamente fra i personaggi scritti da lei, scoprire la vita delle persone che li hanno ispirati è stata un'esperienza commovente come poche. È invece stato strano scoprire gli esordi alla vita di Magda: conosciuta solo come scrittrice di grande sensibilità e lucidità nei confronti dell'essere umano e della Storia, è stato spiazzante trovare una piccola Magda presuntuosa, egocentrica, ma, soprattutto, cieca di fronte ai cambiamenti del suo Paese e alla realtà... per lei avevano senso solo i classici dell'antichità. E in questo senso sarà solo una la figura che le aprirà gli occhi: Cecília, la sorella adottiva orfana del Trianon (di cui non sapevo niente e che ho subito cercato nel vecchio libro di storia), che quasi subito diventerà complice nelle sue continue fantasticherie, ma che sarà anche il suo contrappeso nella vita, colei che la manterrà in equilibrio. Questo libro è dedicato a lei, e io mi immagino la Szabó, ignara di star scrivendo le sue ultime pagine (questo sarà uno dei suoi ultimi lavori), davanti alla sua scrivania persa e commossa fra i suoi ricordi, e mi piacerebbe essere vicino a lei per poterle sussurrare che sta dedicando le sue ultime parole proprio a lei, alla sua amata sorella. "Per Elisa" avrebbe dovuto far parte di un progetto autobiografico più vasto, rimasto quindi incompiuto, ma anche da solo, per la storia personale della giovane Magda, e per la Storia con la "S" maiuscola lì raccontata, sempre con grande delicatezza ed eleganza, rappresenta uno dei punti più alti della sua carriera di scrittrice.
Igazából csak most kezdem el érteni, hogy Szabó Magda egy nagyon más kor szülötte. Mikor én világra jöttem, ő már több, mint nyolcvan éves volt, és két éves voltam, mikor ezt a regényt kiadta. Hol van már az a világ, amiben ő élt, hát még az, amiben ő nőtt fel? Megvallom, van amit nem tudtam bevenni, vagy megérteni úgy igazán abból, amit olvastam. Egy letűnt világ letűnt működése és szabályai, amelyek olyan idegenek egy a harmadik évezredben született és felnőtt nőtől. De hogy szeretem, az nem változik. És hogy mi igaz az egészből, és mi nem, azt már rád hagyom, Magdolna.
Il primo capitolo (e purtroppo l'unico) dell'autobiografia di M. Szabò, in cui lei racconta la sua infanzia e adolescenza fino all'esame di maturità. Ne emerge un ritratto a volte anche sorprendentemente luminoso e spiritoso di una giovane donna già piena di talento e già a doversi scontrare con la bigotteria di chi non comprendeva il suo genio e la sua limpidezza. Ma la Szabò era un'autrice onesta e non censura le asperità del suo carattere, anche quelle che le sono sopravvissute in età matura. Il romanzo è anche una gigantesca dedica a Cili (la Elisa del titolo), sua amatissima sorella adottiva scomparsa prematuramente. Consiglio questo libro a chi ha già letto altro della Szabò, perché in molti paragrafi ci vengono rivelati gli spunti di suoi romanzi successivi e questo aggiunge piacere alla lettura.
Kábé a feléig borzasztóan zavart az okoskodó, modoros hangnem, amit néhol az erősen sziruposan tálalt történet is súlyosbít, de a második felére valahogy jobban elkapott a cselekmény, és szépen össze lettek dolgozva a szálak. Azt nem értem, hogy Szabó Magdánál az olyan szerkezetek, hogy "akinek a neve..." miért úgy vannak, hogy "aki neve...", mert ez meglehetősen megnehezíti az amúgy is szövevényes mondatok értelmezését. A szövevényes mondatokkal nincs baj, csak ilyenkor éppen az a bravúr, ha közben az ember tud menni az íróval, és ezt itt sokszor megakasztották ezek a minimum véleményes nyelvi megoldások. Az erősebb szerkesztői kéz hiánya szerintem abban is megmutatkozott, hogy csomó részletet akár 2-3 oldalon belül is megismételt, néha többször is. Lehet, hogy ahogy az időugrásokkal, ezekkel is az emberi emlékezet működését akarta modellezni, de nekem valahogy inkább figyelmetlenségnek tűnt.
Mintha magamat és a nevelési elveimet látnám Szabó Magda gyermekkorában. Az ember tanítsa meg a gyermekét latinul, és négy éves korától kezdve folyékonyan beszéljen vele ezen a nyelven. Persze manapság már nem az istenkáromlástól kellene félteni, de összességében rendkívül hasznos adománynak érzem, nem véletlenül ment később az írónő sem Bécsbe latin szakra. A két világháború közötti hangulatot tűpontosan felfestve kezdünk megismerkedni Debrecennel, a családi környezettel, a Trianon-árvákkal, különösképpen Cecíliával és az avignoni híddal. Egyébiránt több ponton is egy rugóra jár az agyunk Magdával, én is hasonló kegyetlen logikával zavartam meg a hittételeket tanító nénikéket a Biblia bakugrásaival kapcsolatban. Rendkívüli lendülettel írta meg élete alkonyán ezt a könyvet, benne a gyermekkor minden keserűségével, önfeledtségével és persze szakadékaival, előhalálaival, ahogy édesanyja nevezte őket. Több, mint gimnáziumi lányok életéről szóló ifjúsági regény, hiszen retrospektív a regény szemlélete, számtalan előreutalással és évtizedekkel későbbi emlékek beiktatásával színesíti a regény folyamát. Nagyon ajánlom ezt a regényt, csodálatos!
Some thoughts halfway through: Beautifully written. But I found the language quite challenging, not having enjoyed schooling in Hungarian. Having grown up in Germany learning Hungarian from my mother and during summer holidays in Hungary, on a family and every day level, this really took me to my limits. My favourite episode: Cili dealing with the school bully by kicking her in the knee. --- I can't believe it, 5 months later, I'm through! I admit I had a hard time with this one. Magda Szabó is a great writer, but I think "Abigél" or the one about the cats is more my cup of tea.
primo volume di quella che doveva essere un'ideale trilogia autobiografica di magda szabò - mai terminata. l'infanzia e il rapporto con la sorella adottiva cili, ma anche la vita in famiglia, la storia ungherese, l'ispirazione per alcuni personaggi e ambientazioni dei romanzi. una scrittura scorrevole e avvincente, libro davvero interessante, scrittrice sempre magnifica.
I read this book a few years ago, and I have to admit I was very reluctant to start but then it just sucked me in. The prose is beautiful, Magda Szabó is one of the authors that can write about ordinary things in an extraordinary way.
Nelasījās īpaši viegli, tiešām ļoti daudz ungāru un latīņu tekstu atsauču. Es diemžēl ar šīm lietām neesmu bijusi īpaši pazīstama. Tajā pašā laikā uzzināju diezgan daudz par Ungāriju - gan faktus, gan vairāk pašus dīvainos ungārus. Grūti arī saprast varoņu rīcību mūsdienu kontekstā - it kā sanāktu, ka tās norises notiek starpkaru periodā, bet pēc varoņu uzvedības un vismaz norādītās domu gaitas pat liktos, ka senāk. Un nez kāpēc principā arī radās sajūta, ka tās Cili mīlas mokas ir vairāk piedomātas. Visi lielākoties tik jūsmīgi runā, ka tie varoņi, cik nu reāli ir bijuši, tomēr šķiet, ka tiek attēloti caur autores prizmu. Visas iespējas, ka vienkārši neprotu novērtēt literāro darbu, bet nu man tās neskaidrās lietas (specifiski ungāriskās vai latīņu litaratūras) bija par daudz un, kad pati autore uz tām atsaucās man jau viņas visas juka kopā un nesapratu nianses.
Egy-egy részen annyira nehéz volt túlolvasni miközben hajtott a tudat, hogy ez a legjobb könyv, amelyet ebben az évben olvastam. Csodálatos azt a szabadságot olvasni, mellyel kimondottan csak az tudhat fogalmazni, akinek már tényleg nincs, akit megbántania. Kiváltságos helyzet és Szabó Magda csodálatosan élt a lehetőséggel.
Önéletrajz - a XX. század elejének világa. Gyermekek, kamaszok, családok, felnőtté válás. Milyen mintákat gyűjt egy kamaszlány, milyen viszonyokat alakít ki, hogyan formálják a körülötte lévő felnőttek...
Zseniális volt. Egyszerűen imádtam🥺❤️ Egyszerre volt mély és szórakoztató, s miután az utolsó oldal végére értem elkepesztő hiányt éreztem, hogy nincs tovább. 🥺Szabó Magda gyermekkora csodálatos volt, ahogy ő maga is az❤️
Ezt a regényt nagyon megkönnyeztem. Annyira irigylem az írókat, hogy regénybe önthetik a gyászmunkájukat! Nagyon szeretem a Szabó Magda univerzum több regényben visszatérő szereplőit is.
Non vado matta per le ripetizioni, e questo libro ne ha davvero molte. Lo appesantiscono e lo rendono poco scorrevole, dal mio punto di vista. Comunque, grande stile di scrittura
The book is an author’s memoir, set in Hungary at the beginning of the 20th century. Magda was an only child whose parents raised her with the understanding that one day she would be a famous writer. Her father loved culture, literature and art. So he started educating her before she even started to attend school. He taught her Latin. Magda was surrounded by the love of her parents, when one day her father comes home with a little blond girl named Cecilia in his arms. She was orphaned when both of her parents were shot as they all tried to leave the country. When Magda sees Cecilia in her father’s arms she becomes angry and jealous, screaming to her father to bring back the little girl. This book was dedicated to that girl, who now is Magda’s sister. As time passed she begins to love her sister, always protecting and caring for her.
Cecilia was very musical with an amazing voice and a talented dancer. The story is about the tragic life of Cecilia. She fell in love with a boy from her dancing class who also fell in love with her. They knew they never could be together as the young boy, also an orphan, had been “bought” by the town’s richest man. In exchange for the support that allowed him to study medicine he promised to marry his ugly daughter. Since they both knew their love had no future, Cecilia decides to marry a famous musician from Italy. She was only 18 at the time and her husband was 52. She married in order to escape from her lost love. All she really wanted was to be far away from her true love. Tragically she died only two years later.
Magda Szabo is a famous Hungarian writer who was 90 years old when she wrote this book. I enjoyed her novel “Abigail”, it was so vividly written, that I was sure I would like this book too. Unfortunately this is not one of her best books; I found the story hard to follow. This is the first of two her memoir books she wrote, but I’m not sure if I will read the second one. I was disappointed after reading this book, not because the story, but the way it was written. Szabo is a good author and I’m sure I will find one of her earlier books I will enjoy as much as I did “Abigail”.
As a biography written at the old ages of the author, this is a nice ending of a huge legacy, and it features several references to the previous work of the author, hence I only read one book from her before this, there are parts I couldn't really appreciate. The ending was quite a disappointment for me, for a long while it seemed it is going to be Cili's death, something quite terrible, something that changed everything but truth be told, the endig just came and went by without any remarkable shock.
Magda Szabo writes about her childhood, family and studies in Debrecen in this book. She was a child between the two world war. She grew up with an orphan. Cili, the orphan, was a victim of Trianon. Magda's father brought her - a sister for Magda - from Budapest. This novel is about their relationship.