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La balada de Iza
La señora Szöcs es una anciana que acaba de enviudar y que, aunque se siente muy sola, está acostumbrada a vivir en su pueblo. Iza, su hija, decide con las mejores intenciones que su madre se traslade a Budapest. Pero en la capital la señora Szöcs no es feliz y empieza a sumergirse en una depresión, hasta que toma la determinación de regresar a su pueblo. Una historia sencilla, intimista y delicada sobre la fragilidad de las relaciones humanas, la incomunicación y el dolor de la pérdida.
288 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1963
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About the author
Magda Szabó
79 books1,244 followersMagda 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 In 1949 she was awarded the Baumgarten Prize, which was--for political reasons--withdrawn from her on the very day it was given.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 .
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 .
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September 22, 2023
شاید کتاب ترانه ایزا نوشته ماگدا سابو را بتوان نه در ستایش رفتن و دگرگون شدن بلکه در ستایش ماندن و تغییر نکردن دانست ، سرگردانی میان سنت و مدرنیته ، میان شهر و روستا و میان وضع فعلی و آینده ، پایه های کتاب او را ساخته اند .
داستان او با یک مرگ شروع شده و با مرگی دیگر هم پایان می یابد ، در میان این دو مرگ سابو به جستجوی احساسات و عواطف انسانها در چهارچوب روابط خانگی پرداخته .
ترانه ایزا شامل چهار فصل خاک ، آتش ، آب و هوا است که هریک به یکی از شخصیتهای کتاب اشاره دارد ، داستان کتاب هم با اینکه در زمان رژیم کمونیستی مجارستان می گذرد اشاره ای به خفقان و سرکوب و یا حتی کمبودهای رایج این دوره ندارد ، خانواده مهمترین عنصر کتاب است .
وینس پدر خانواده شاید یکی از نیکوترین کارکترهایی باشد که تا به حال خواننده با آن روبرو شده باشد ، شخصیت فروتن و متواضع و دانشمندی که در گذشته جان یهودیی را نجات داده واکنون هم مورد خشم رژیم کمونیستی قرار گرفته ، وینس با اصول اخلاقی یگانه خود در سرتاسر داستان حضور دارد و به گونه ای اصول خود را به دیگر افراد خانواده هم تسری داده است .
خانم سابو با استادی و مهارت به ریزترین خصوصیات افراد پرداخته ، ویژگی هایی که شاید همواره منفی هم نباشند اما در لحظه خاص نویسنده نابود کننده و مرگبار می شوند ، مانند خساست گیگا که فاجعه آخر داستان را می آفریند ، یا جدی و خودساخته بودن ایزا .
ماگدا سابو تنهایی و انزوا را نقد نمی کند ، در دنیای او هم در جامعه بودن ایزا ارزش دارد و هم نیاز شدید اتی مادر ایزا به تنهایی ، همین گونه بوداپست شلوغ هم مزیتی بر روستای کوچک آنها ندارد ، مهم روحیه و حال افراد است که کدام یک را ترجیح می دهد .
در پایان داستان و با مرگ دوم ، گویی پرونده خانواده و روستا هم بسته می شود ، فاجعه ای که پیش آمده چنان شخصیت افراد و به ویژه ایزا را فاش کرده که نکته ای پنهان نمانده ، کاری هم باقی نمانده . روستایی که ایزا از آن می گریزد جایی ایست که خانواده او به آن جا پناه برده و ساکن ابدی آن شده اند .
کتاب ترانه ایزا با وجود آنکه عمق کتاب در شاهکار ماگدا سابو و یا پیچدگی های خیابان کاتالین را ندارد اما اثری ایست به شدت انسانی و درگیر کننده . هنر نویسنده در ساختن دنیایی بدون مکان و زمان و با تکیه بر تناقضات روابط و احساسات انسانی بوده ، روابطی که با گذشت زمان نه تنها از سهل و آسان نشده چه بسی پیچیده تر هم شده باشد .
داستان او با یک مرگ شروع شده و با مرگی دیگر هم پایان می یابد ، در میان این دو مرگ سابو به جستجوی احساسات و عواطف انسانها در چهارچوب روابط خانگی پرداخته .
ترانه ایزا شامل چهار فصل خاک ، آتش ، آب و هوا است که هریک به یکی از شخصیتهای کتاب اشاره دارد ، داستان کتاب هم با اینکه در زمان رژیم کمونیستی مجارستان می گذرد اشاره ای به خفقان و سرکوب و یا حتی کمبودهای رایج این دوره ندارد ، خانواده مهمترین عنصر کتاب است .
وینس پدر خانواده شاید یکی از نیکوترین کارکترهایی باشد که تا به حال خواننده با آن روبرو شده باشد ، شخصیت فروتن و متواضع و دانشمندی که در گذشته جان یهودیی را نجات داده واکنون هم مورد خشم رژیم کمونیستی قرار گرفته ، وینس با اصول اخلاقی یگانه خود در سرتاسر داستان حضور دارد و به گونه ای اصول خود را به دیگر افراد خانواده هم تسری داده است .
خانم سابو با استادی و مهارت به ریزترین خصوصیات افراد پرداخته ، ویژگی هایی که شاید همواره منفی هم نباشند اما در لحظه خاص نویسنده نابود کننده و مرگبار می شوند ، مانند خساست گیگا که فاجعه آخر داستان را می آفریند ، یا جدی و خودساخته بودن ایزا .
ماگدا سابو تنهایی و انزوا را نقد نمی کند ، در دنیای او هم در جامعه بودن ایزا ارزش دارد و هم نیاز شدید اتی مادر ایزا به تنهایی ، همین گونه بوداپست شلوغ هم مزیتی بر روستای کوچک آنها ندارد ، مهم روحیه و حال افراد است که کدام یک را ترجیح می دهد .
در پایان داستان و با مرگ دوم ، گویی پرونده خانواده و روستا هم بسته می شود ، فاجعه ای که پیش آمده چنان شخصیت افراد و به ویژه ایزا را فاش کرده که نکته ای پنهان نمانده ، کاری هم باقی نمانده . روستایی که ایزا از آن می گریزد جایی ایست که خانواده او به آن جا پناه برده و ساکن ابدی آن شده اند .
کتاب ترانه ایزا با وجود آنکه عمق کتاب در شاهکار ماگدا سابو و یا پیچدگی های خیابان کاتالین را ندارد اما اثری ایست به شدت انسانی و درگیر کننده . هنر نویسنده در ساختن دنیایی بدون مکان و زمان و با تکیه بر تناقضات روابط و احساسات انسانی بوده ، روابطی که با گذشت زمان نه تنها از سهل و آسان نشده چه بسی پیچیده تر هم شده باشد .
May 16, 2020
This is the third piece of fiction I have read by Magda Szabo. She is amazing! Five stars. I will regret when I have run out of books by her to read.
I have read “The Door” [1987] and “Abigail” [1970, tr. 2019, issued by NYRB 2020]. Loved both of them. “Iza’s Ballad” was written in 1963 and translated by George Szirtes in 2014. I believe the publication date for the NYRB edition was 2016. This edition has a nice introduction by the translator.
I had started this on a Thursday and had read about 100 pages, and figured yesterday I would read another 100 pages and finish up today. Not to be. I could not stop last night — I had to find out what words Vince, Iza’s father, had spoken on his deathbed to Lidia, a nurse in the hospital. Because I thought it would tie up some important loose ends…and they did. But I’m not going to tell you! 😊
Iza was the daughter of Vince and Ettie. Vince and Ettie’s first-born, Endrus, had died as a young boy. The setting is Hungary in the early 1960s. Iza is a successful physician, divorced 7 years ago, from Antal (they had been married apparently happily for 4 years). They used to live in the small home of her mother and father. Why Antal divorced Iza is a mystery at the outset of the book, and initially doesn’t seem important but then as one reads on it does. Iza now has a boyfriend, Domokos. When Vince, Iza’s father dies, she takes Ettie, her mother to lza to Budapest to live with her Iza has a maid, Terez. And that covers the main protagonists of the novel.
I took 1 ½ pages of notes as I was reading along.
I really hate to go into any more detail about this book... It was just wonderful to read this book, without any more knowledge than what was given on the back of the book, and I imagine this website page for “Iza’s Ballad” has a brief synopsis. To explain who Iza is, her personality, and who her mother is, her personality, who Antal is…I think there was a reason why I finished this book in two sittings, and it was the fact that I learned about these characters only from what Szabo and the translator Szirtes told me. And I wanted to learn more and more, and hence why I couldn’t put the book down yesterday!
Maybe just a couple of observations: This book centered on the relationship between Iza and those around her (the other protagonists), and chiefly her mother. It is interesting how the mother is referred to in the novel by Szabo. She is referred to as “the old woman”. I would have to guess because that is what Ettie felt like throughout much of the novel. She is sometimes referred to as “Ettie” and only once as far as I can tell in the book by her full first name — Etel.
What a wonderful writer Szabo is. This was a 328-page book. With most books of this length I could say that at some times the book might have lagged in some parts. Not this book. Here is one snippet…my note was simply “so sad” and this is what Szabo wrote (when the old woman is looking at the gravestone she had carved for her husband): “Iza! Iza again. The comfortless truth of her words. Iza with her cigarette as she waved her hands about in the dusk: ‘Forget the headstone, mama, just get the grave dug and forget memorial stones. What do you want one for? A wooden memorial is more like him, less loud, more modest.’ But the old woman wanted to do something special for Vince and had spent a fortune on the black marble she was now sadly contemplating. When she was a young girl she had had angels carved for Endrus’s headstone, light and charming figures, and for years — and for decades after — she felt they were like playmates to this tiny boy. At night when the body was not subject to the normal laws of decay, she imagined the stone angels playing with Endrus, all flying together. Now that she was seventy-six, looking at the new headstone, she knew the dead really die and there was nothing you could give them by way of commiseration, no sadness, no love.”
Reviews:
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/13/bo... (Jim: Don’t read this until after you read the novel…too many spoilers!)
https://www.harvardreview.org/book-re... (Jim: Don’t read this until after you read the novel…too many spoilers!)
I have read “The Door” [1987] and “Abigail” [1970, tr. 2019, issued by NYRB 2020]. Loved both of them. “Iza’s Ballad” was written in 1963 and translated by George Szirtes in 2014. I believe the publication date for the NYRB edition was 2016. This edition has a nice introduction by the translator.
I had started this on a Thursday and had read about 100 pages, and figured yesterday I would read another 100 pages and finish up today. Not to be. I could not stop last night — I had to find out what words Vince, Iza’s father, had spoken on his deathbed to Lidia, a nurse in the hospital. Because I thought it would tie up some important loose ends…and they did. But I’m not going to tell you! 😊
Iza was the daughter of Vince and Ettie. Vince and Ettie’s first-born, Endrus, had died as a young boy. The setting is Hungary in the early 1960s. Iza is a successful physician, divorced 7 years ago, from Antal (they had been married apparently happily for 4 years). They used to live in the small home of her mother and father. Why Antal divorced Iza is a mystery at the outset of the book, and initially doesn’t seem important but then as one reads on it does. Iza now has a boyfriend, Domokos. When Vince, Iza’s father dies, she takes Ettie, her mother to lza to Budapest to live with her Iza has a maid, Terez. And that covers the main protagonists of the novel.
I took 1 ½ pages of notes as I was reading along.
I really hate to go into any more detail about this book... It was just wonderful to read this book, without any more knowledge than what was given on the back of the book, and I imagine this website page for “Iza’s Ballad” has a brief synopsis. To explain who Iza is, her personality, and who her mother is, her personality, who Antal is…I think there was a reason why I finished this book in two sittings, and it was the fact that I learned about these characters only from what Szabo and the translator Szirtes told me. And I wanted to learn more and more, and hence why I couldn’t put the book down yesterday!
Maybe just a couple of observations: This book centered on the relationship between Iza and those around her (the other protagonists), and chiefly her mother. It is interesting how the mother is referred to in the novel by Szabo. She is referred to as “the old woman”. I would have to guess because that is what Ettie felt like throughout much of the novel. She is sometimes referred to as “Ettie” and only once as far as I can tell in the book by her full first name — Etel.
What a wonderful writer Szabo is. This was a 328-page book. With most books of this length I could say that at some times the book might have lagged in some parts. Not this book. Here is one snippet…my note was simply “so sad” and this is what Szabo wrote (when the old woman is looking at the gravestone she had carved for her husband): “Iza! Iza again. The comfortless truth of her words. Iza with her cigarette as she waved her hands about in the dusk: ‘Forget the headstone, mama, just get the grave dug and forget memorial stones. What do you want one for? A wooden memorial is more like him, less loud, more modest.’ But the old woman wanted to do something special for Vince and had spent a fortune on the black marble she was now sadly contemplating. When she was a young girl she had had angels carved for Endrus’s headstone, light and charming figures, and for years — and for decades after — she felt they were like playmates to this tiny boy. At night when the body was not subject to the normal laws of decay, she imagined the stone angels playing with Endrus, all flying together. Now that she was seventy-six, looking at the new headstone, she knew the dead really die and there was nothing you could give them by way of commiseration, no sadness, no love.”
Reviews:
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/13/bo... (Jim: Don’t read this until after you read the novel…too many spoilers!)
https://www.harvardreview.org/book-re... (Jim: Don’t read this until after you read the novel…too many spoilers!)
October 7, 2016
Read Szabo's The Door and was blown away, wanted to read more by this fantastic author but couldn't find any other translated works here in the states. Then I saw this one, comes out soon, and started reading and once again this author reached inside and captured me totally. She seems to have such an understanding of all the messy, inside things, memories and habits, misunderstandings and experiences that make us human.
Ettie and Vince has been married for fifty years when he dies. They had lived in the rural area for many years, lived simply, not ever showing they had more than their neighbors, every item in their house had meaning, and suddenly it is gone. They only had one daughter, Iza who became a doctor and often she visited providing for her parents in their elderly years. Suddenly it is all gone, Iza decides to take her mother and live with her in her apartment in Budapest, from rural to city, nothing familiar, nothing the same.
A mother who never really understood her daughter and the past against the present, old versus new, and memories, meaningful things. How does one survive when everything one cherished is gone? Szabo put together a multiple faceted story, we learn about some of the characters from other characters, conversations and again memories. A simple, but powerful story. Another winner for me from this author.
ARC from publisher.
Ettie and Vince has been married for fifty years when he dies. They had lived in the rural area for many years, lived simply, not ever showing they had more than their neighbors, every item in their house had meaning, and suddenly it is gone. They only had one daughter, Iza who became a doctor and often she visited providing for her parents in their elderly years. Suddenly it is all gone, Iza decides to take her mother and live with her in her apartment in Budapest, from rural to city, nothing familiar, nothing the same.
A mother who never really understood her daughter and the past against the present, old versus new, and memories, meaningful things. How does one survive when everything one cherished is gone? Szabo put together a multiple faceted story, we learn about some of the characters from other characters, conversations and again memories. A simple, but powerful story. Another winner for me from this author.
ARC from publisher.
February 29, 2016
It is a wonderful thing to discover, in my dotage, a writer I previously didn't know. It's always been that way, of course. Salinger at 15. Steinbeck at 16. Kafka, Hesse, Solzhenitsyn, when it mattered most. Murakami and Mitchell, when it didn't matter at all. Much later: Colum McCann; Vargas Llosa and Marias; Bolano and Gass. In their own way, Barnes and Trevor.
Writers, who, once you read them, you have to read every word.
I was 30 pages into Magda Szabó's The Door when I ordered Iza's Ballad, the only other work of Szabó's translated into English. Such was her purchase.
Everyone is nice, well-intentioned in this novel. Ettie's husband, Vince, is dying of cancer. Their daughter Iza, a doctor, comes from Budapest, to take control of things. It's what she does.
Everyone in this novel (in all Szabó's novels) are good people. They mean well. This is a story of the wreck of good intentions.
When Vince dies, Iza swoops Ettie up and takes her to Budapest. She'll get a new wardrobe, a housekeeper will take care of cooking and cleaning. Ettie soon feels useless.
Yes, it's minimalist. Or seemingly so. And it drags a bit. Yet six characters are fully formed.
For me, it was like a wonderful European film. Take the early scene, when Vince has died. Iza brings Ettie home, then repairs to the kitchen to make tea. When she re-enters the room where her mother is, she sees that Ettie has stopped the clock at 4:30; she has turned off the main light and turned on the small one instead; and she covered the mirror with the knitted berliner shawl.
Iza's mouth twitched but she didn't say anything. She waited for the old woman to drink her tea, then snatched the shawl from the mirror and put it around her mother instead. She opened the cover of the clock face, moved the hands to the right time and set the thing going.
You should let Grandma make her cabbage soup. If Grandpa has 4,000 books, ask him what he's reading. Because, if you don't feel at all of use, you grab your oldest coat, an unseemly bag, and you go walking into the fog. Like that movie.
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____
An editorial comment:
In so much of modern literature, male characters are unredeemable dicks. I mean, take Margaret Atwood, an exceptional writer, who can not write a sympathetic male (unless he's gay). There are three male characters in this novel: Vince, Antal and Domokos. They're imperfect. But each of them tries so hard.
I just love how Szabó takes us as we are. I'm not that bad. I'm not that bad. I'm not that ...........
Writers, who, once you read them, you have to read every word.
I was 30 pages into Magda Szabó's The Door when I ordered Iza's Ballad, the only other work of Szabó's translated into English. Such was her purchase.
Everyone is nice, well-intentioned in this novel. Ettie's husband, Vince, is dying of cancer. Their daughter Iza, a doctor, comes from Budapest, to take control of things. It's what she does.
Everyone in this novel (in all Szabó's novels) are good people. They mean well. This is a story of the wreck of good intentions.
When Vince dies, Iza swoops Ettie up and takes her to Budapest. She'll get a new wardrobe, a housekeeper will take care of cooking and cleaning. Ettie soon feels useless.
Yes, it's minimalist. Or seemingly so. And it drags a bit. Yet six characters are fully formed.
For me, it was like a wonderful European film. Take the early scene, when Vince has died. Iza brings Ettie home, then repairs to the kitchen to make tea. When she re-enters the room where her mother is, she sees that Ettie has stopped the clock at 4:30; she has turned off the main light and turned on the small one instead; and she covered the mirror with the knitted berliner shawl.
Iza's mouth twitched but she didn't say anything. She waited for the old woman to drink her tea, then snatched the shawl from the mirror and put it around her mother instead. She opened the cover of the clock face, moved the hands to the right time and set the thing going.
You should let Grandma make her cabbage soup. If Grandpa has 4,000 books, ask him what he's reading. Because, if you don't feel at all of use, you grab your oldest coat, an unseemly bag, and you go walking into the fog. Like that movie.
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____
An editorial comment:
In so much of modern literature, male characters are unredeemable dicks. I mean, take Margaret Atwood, an exceptional writer, who can not write a sympathetic male (unless he's gay). There are three male characters in this novel: Vince, Antal and Domokos. They're imperfect. But each of them tries so hard.
I just love how Szabó takes us as we are. I'm not that bad. I'm not that bad. I'm not that ...........
November 20, 2023
The first thing I have to say is that this book touched too closely on recent events in my own life not to feel almost oppressive at times. I had to read it slowly, because I could only handle it in small doses and because I was frequently unable to see the printed page because my eyes were flooded with tears. When the book opens, Ettie has just lost her husband of 55 years, Vince. I could relate so well to her loss and her feeling that reality had slipped away with the death of this man.
It was the first time in her life she felt the earth was round, not flat; that it was slowly but unmistakably turning under her feet. How could Vince’s tiny and ever more wasted body represent such security for her? She stood there, leaning against the gatepost that hadn’t seemed quite real to her for days, as if Vince had taken the reality of the stones and planks away with him and left only a ball of white noise, a mere fog behind.
Vince and Ettie have lived a simple life in the country, surrounded by people they have always known, and careful to be frugal with their money and respectful of those who have less than they do. Life has had difficulties, some of it severe, but they have been contented, and life has had meaning. Their only daughter, Iza, is a well-respected doctor and has a flat in Budapest and all the material trappings that reflect her position. The parents have lived through her vicariously, and they are extremely proud of her accomplishments. When her father dies, she disposes of her mother’s life and things with the snap of a finger and takes her back to live in the cold, sterile flat in Pest, where she is treated like a houseguest and deprived of any sense of purpose.
Maybe she was already dead and hadn’t noticed? Could a person die and not be aware of it?
What Szabo does so well in all her novels, is to view the interior workings of human beings, the desire to be generous and the failure to do so, the mistaken concept that money and things will feel the void in a soul. Iza is not entirely bad, she is emotionally stunted, and she has learned all too well to hide her feelings and her needs. Because she pushes away from her own needs, she fails miserably to understand her mother’s.
For the first half of the novel, I felt I was reading Ettie’s story; for the second half, I was reading Iza’s. There could not have been less understanding or more misunderstanding between two people, and the result is as sad a tale as I have ever encountered.
I will not say anything more, at the risk of revealing too much of the plot, but I felt the angst of Ettie, Iza, and Antal (Iza’s ex-husband). Vince makes only short appearances in the book, and those in retrospectives from other characters, but I loved him so much, and like Ettie, I felt his presence tying all these characters together and leaving them at loose ends when he was gone.
This is my fourth Szabo, and perhaps my favorite. She has a singular ability to plumb the depths of the human mind and soul.
It was the first time in her life she felt the earth was round, not flat; that it was slowly but unmistakably turning under her feet. How could Vince’s tiny and ever more wasted body represent such security for her? She stood there, leaning against the gatepost that hadn’t seemed quite real to her for days, as if Vince had taken the reality of the stones and planks away with him and left only a ball of white noise, a mere fog behind.
Vince and Ettie have lived a simple life in the country, surrounded by people they have always known, and careful to be frugal with their money and respectful of those who have less than they do. Life has had difficulties, some of it severe, but they have been contented, and life has had meaning. Their only daughter, Iza, is a well-respected doctor and has a flat in Budapest and all the material trappings that reflect her position. The parents have lived through her vicariously, and they are extremely proud of her accomplishments. When her father dies, she disposes of her mother’s life and things with the snap of a finger and takes her back to live in the cold, sterile flat in Pest, where she is treated like a houseguest and deprived of any sense of purpose.
Maybe she was already dead and hadn’t noticed? Could a person die and not be aware of it?
What Szabo does so well in all her novels, is to view the interior workings of human beings, the desire to be generous and the failure to do so, the mistaken concept that money and things will feel the void in a soul. Iza is not entirely bad, she is emotionally stunted, and she has learned all too well to hide her feelings and her needs. Because she pushes away from her own needs, she fails miserably to understand her mother’s.
For the first half of the novel, I felt I was reading Ettie’s story; for the second half, I was reading Iza’s. There could not have been less understanding or more misunderstanding between two people, and the result is as sad a tale as I have ever encountered.
I will not say anything more, at the risk of revealing too much of the plot, but I felt the angst of Ettie, Iza, and Antal (Iza’s ex-husband). Vince makes only short appearances in the book, and those in retrospectives from other characters, but I loved him so much, and like Ettie, I felt his presence tying all these characters together and leaving them at loose ends when he was gone.
This is my fourth Szabo, and perhaps my favorite. She has a singular ability to plumb the depths of the human mind and soul.
February 20, 2022
Of, ne kitap; kalbimi paramparça etti, çok dokundu. Çok süssüz, çok yalın cümlelerle son derece gerçek ve bir o kadar da dramatik bir hikâye anlatıyor Szabo. Babasının ölümünün ardından İza’nın annesini yanına almasıyla beraber gelişen olayları okuyoruz kitapta. Bir yanda hayatının ortasına dalan annesiyle ne yapacağını bilemeyen İza, diğer yanda işe yaramak için çabaladıkça kızını kendisinden daha da uzaklaştıran annesi… (Özellikle içimi parçalayan bu kısımları okurken Saramago’nun şu çok sevdiğim satırları geldi aklıma: “Ben hep yalnız yaşadım ama yalnızlık yalnız yaşamak değildir, içimizdeki birine ya da bir şeye yoldaşlık edememektir. (...) Hatta öyle sanıyorum ki ilk yalnızlık işte bu; kendini lüzumlu hissetmemek.” İnsanların birbirini anlamasının imkansızlığını, kabuklarımızın altında ne kadar başka insanlar olduğumuzu, yalnızlığın nasıl kaçınılmaz olduğunu suratıma çarptı bu kitap. İçindeki herkesi sevdim, hepsine kızdım. Hepsini sezdim, herkesi işittim, hak verdim, eleştirdim. Yazarın tarafsızlığını böyle koruyabilmesi, yargılamadan tüm karakterlerini çırılçıplak soyup okurun takdirine sunabilmesi büyük maharet hakikaten. Usta işi, incelikli, hüzünlü, çok dokunaklı bir kitap İza’nın Şarkısı. Hem İza’nın, hem Etelka’nın, Antal’ın, Vince’nin, Lidia’nın, Domokos’un şarkısı aslında. İyi ki okudum.
August 4, 2023
رمانى عميق و تاثير گذار بر احساسات وعواطف درونى خواننده از خانم ماگدا سابو كه بى نهايت خواندنى است،به قدرى كه لحظه لحظه كتاب را بايد زيست و از خواندن آن لذت برد.
كتاب همچون زندگى واقعى از غم و رنج و دردى مى گويد كه هيچوقت در حيات وزيستن ما آدمها تمامى ندارد،از آرزوهاى همسر وپدرى كه با فقر و رنج ندارى و تهمت خيانت به وطن بهترين سالهاى عمر خويش را به افسوس و آه گذارند،از مادرى كه به عشق دختر ويگانه فرزندش وپس از فوت همسر خويش از شهر و روستا خود دل مى كند ولى جزء غربت و سرخوردگى وياس وغم در كنار دختر و درخانه شهرى او چيزى عايدش نمى شود؛وقتى كه جنگ و دنياى پس از جنگ افكار وانتظارات و روابط زندگى را دگرگون مى كند و دختر كه استقلال و خود ساختگى و مستقل بودنش به اين فاصله و دورى از مادر عمق بيشترى مى بخشد.و در نهايت همسرى كه در برابر خودخواهى و جاه طلبى هاى زنى كه روزى دوستش داشت تسليم مى شود وسرانجام دل مى كند.
خانم نويسنده در اين رمان شيرين خود از درك نشدن وتفاوت نسل ها مى گويد،از دگرگونى هايي كه ارمغان عصر نوين است،تا آنجا كه مهر و همدلى از دلها رخت بر مى بنند و خودبينى ادمها و بيان نكردن عشق درونشان به يكديگر آنها را به انزوا و تنهايي دور از انتظارى در درون خود تبعيد مى كند.
كتاب همچون زندگى واقعى از غم و رنج و دردى مى گويد كه هيچوقت در حيات وزيستن ما آدمها تمامى ندارد،از آرزوهاى همسر وپدرى كه با فقر و رنج ندارى و تهمت خيانت به وطن بهترين سالهاى عمر خويش را به افسوس و آه گذارند،از مادرى كه به عشق دختر ويگانه فرزندش وپس از فوت همسر خويش از شهر و روستا خود دل مى كند ولى جزء غربت و سرخوردگى وياس وغم در كنار دختر و درخانه شهرى او چيزى عايدش نمى شود؛وقتى كه جنگ و دنياى پس از جنگ افكار وانتظارات و روابط زندگى را دگرگون مى كند و دختر كه استقلال و خود ساختگى و مستقل بودنش به اين فاصله و دورى از مادر عمق بيشترى مى بخشد.و در نهايت همسرى كه در برابر خودخواهى و جاه طلبى هاى زنى كه روزى دوستش داشت تسليم مى شود وسرانجام دل مى كند.
خانم نويسنده در اين رمان شيرين خود از درك نشدن وتفاوت نسل ها مى گويد،از دگرگونى هايي كه ارمغان عصر نوين است،تا آنجا كه مهر و همدلى از دلها رخت بر مى بنند و خودبينى ادمها و بيان نكردن عشق درونشان به يكديگر آنها را به انزوا و تنهايي دور از انتظارى در درون خود تبعيد مى كند.
December 21, 2021
ماگدا سابوی عزیز و محبوبم.. نمیتونم حسی که بعد از خوندن داستانهات دارم رو توصیف کنم. قلب و روحم رو لمس میکنه، و من خط به خط کیف میکنم از بودن کنار شخصیتهایی که ساختی و اینقدر به روح زندگی نزدیکن.
ترانهی ایزا یک روایت ساده است، اما در عین سادگی به طرز عجیبی پیچیده و عمیقه. ایزای کمالگرا و خودخواه، ایزایی که خوبی و بدی رو در کنار هم داره، مثل تمام آدمها. تصویرش در نگاه اطرافیانش تا وقتی اونقدر بهش نزدیک نشدن، بدون نقص و حسرت برانگیره! آدمها به ایزا نزدیک میشن و به بخشی از وجودش پی میبرن که هولناکه. همین هم در انتهای داستان ایزا رو بدون اینکه بفهمه، تا اعماق یاس و ناامیدی میبره.
داستان ۴ فصل داره و هر فصل به سرگذشت یکی از شخصیتا می پردازه، اما همهی این آدمها به نوعی به ایزا مرتبط میشن و ایزا بخش مهمی از زندگیشون رو تحت تاثیر خودش قرار داده. مادری که بعد از دست دادن پدرش با اون زندگی میکنه. همسر سابقش و نامزد فعلیش.. همهی آدمهای زندگی ایزا وقتی کنارشن، وقتی بهش نزدیک میشن، احساس خفگی میکنن و بعد از مدتی سعی میکنن خودشونو رها کنن. چی میشه که آدمی اینقدر دوست داشتنی و موفق که عاشق پدر، مادر و همسرشه اینجور اونا رو از خودش میرونه؟! و این دقیقا همون چیزیه که سابو به هنرمندانهترین شکل ممکن شرحش میده؛ روابط و احساسات آدمها، ارتباطشون و زندگیای که در کنار هم میسازن..
ترانهی ایزا یک روایت ساده است، اما در عین سادگی به طرز عجیبی پیچیده و عمیقه. ایزای کمالگرا و خودخواه، ایزایی که خوبی و بدی رو در کنار هم داره، مثل تمام آدمها. تصویرش در نگاه اطرافیانش تا وقتی اونقدر بهش نزدیک نشدن، بدون نقص و حسرت برانگیره! آدمها به ایزا نزدیک میشن و به بخشی از وجودش پی میبرن که هولناکه. همین هم در انتهای داستان ایزا رو بدون اینکه بفهمه، تا اعماق یاس و ناامیدی میبره.
داستان ۴ فصل داره و هر فصل به سرگذشت یکی از شخصیتا می پردازه، اما همهی این آدمها به نوعی به ایزا مرتبط میشن و ایزا بخش مهمی از زندگیشون رو تحت تاثیر خودش قرار داده. مادری که بعد از دست دادن پدرش با اون زندگی میکنه. همسر سابقش و نامزد فعلیش.. همهی آدمهای زندگی ایزا وقتی کنارشن، وقتی بهش نزدیک میشن، احساس خفگی میکنن و بعد از مدتی سعی میکنن خودشونو رها کنن. چی میشه که آدمی اینقدر دوست داشتنی و موفق که عاشق پدر، مادر و همسرشه اینجور اونا رو از خودش میرونه؟! و این دقیقا همون چیزیه که سابو به هنرمندانهترین شکل ممکن شرحش میده؛ روابط و احساسات آدمها، ارتباطشون و زندگیای که در کنار هم میسازن..
July 25, 2021
Magda Szabo’dan okuduğum ilk kitap. Öykü bilindik yani orijinalliği yok bence. Babası ölünce annesini yanına alan Dr İza’nın hüzünlü ve sonu önceden tahmin edilen öyküsü anlatılıyor. Akıcı ve coşkulu bir anlatım da bulmadım. Zaten bunlar da olumlu olsaydı beş yıldızlık bir kitap olurdu. Ancak karakter tahlilleri ve idealizmin yakıcı yalnızlığı çok iyi verilmiş.
Eskiyle yeninin, geleneksellikle modernitenin, duygusallıkla empati yoksunluğunun sert çelişkileri etkileyici bir anlatımla yazılmış. Kuşak çatışması ve taşra hayatının başja bir deyişle gerçek yuvanın özlemi de güzel işlenmiş. Siyah-beyaz bir film seyretmek gibi bir şeydi.
Kitap bitince aklıma Gülten Akın’ın o iç titreten dizeleri geldi:
Ah, kimselerin vakti yok
Durup ince şeyleri anlamaya...
Okuma listenize almanızı öneririm. Bir de hangi karaktere sempati duydunuz acaba ?
Eskiyle yeninin, geleneksellikle modernitenin, duygusallıkla empati yoksunluğunun sert çelişkileri etkileyici bir anlatımla yazılmış. Kuşak çatışması ve taşra hayatının başja bir deyişle gerçek yuvanın özlemi de güzel işlenmiş. Siyah-beyaz bir film seyretmek gibi bir şeydi.
Kitap bitince aklıma Gülten Akın’ın o iç titreten dizeleri geldi:
Ah, kimselerin vakti yok
Durup ince şeyleri anlamaya...
Okuma listenize almanızı öneririm. Bir de hangi karaktere sempati duydunuz acaba ?
March 2, 2021
Babasının ölümünden sonra annesini yanına alan İza, mükemmeliyetçi yaklaşımıyla acı çekmekten kaçınarak büyük bir soğukkanlılıkla cenazeyi düzenleyip, eski eşyalardan kurtularak aile evini boşaltır ve annesine Budapeşte’de yeni bir hayat sunar. Ancak kuşaklar arası “ev” anlayışının farkından ve empati- iletişim yoksunluğundan; modern hayatın rahatlığında kusursuz düzenlenmiş yeni ev, iyi niyetin kızgınlıklara dönüştüğü, yanlış anlama ve sessizliklerle dolu bir ortama evrilir.
Kitap 1963 yılında yazılmış olmasına rağmen halen güncelliğini koruyor. Anne-kız ilişkileri, aile ve sosyal roller, yaşlanma, “ev-yuva” kavramları ile iyilik- bencillik üzerine derin bir psikolojik portre çıkartıyor. Budapeşte günleri, evinden, eşyalarından kopmanın ve gündelik sorumluluklarından “kurtulma”nın sonucu olarak anne Etelka için bir yoksunluk dönemi halini alıyor. İnsanlarla olan bağlarını, çevreye ilgisini, dünyaya dair açlığını yavaş yavaş kaybetmesiyle duygusal olarak dikkatinizi kendisinde topluyor.
Ancak İza oldukça karışık yapısıyla, daha trajik bir hayatı temsil ediyor. Antal ile ilk karşılaşmalarından itibaren “küçük asker” karakteri atfedilen İza, dışarıdan kusursuz ve kahraman gibi görünen ama içinde bireysel özgürlük ile kendi kendine yetebilme temelinin önceliğinden dolayı sevgiden yoksun büyüyen; savaş sonrası gelen komünist neslin temsilcisi gibi. Yazarın aldığı kişisel yaralar ve sansürle mücadelesinin sonucu olarak bu rejime karşı oluşturduğu sessiz bir protesto gibi. İza çocukluğundan beri iyi, sorumlu, her zaman görevlerini yerine getiren ve doğru davranan kişi konumunda. Ancak bunun geri planında ailesine, sevdiği adamlara karşı görevini yerine getiren ve buna kırılganlığı, sevgiyi, boyun eğmeyi ve aşkı karıştırmadan yapan birisi. Zaten “ev” kavramına bakışındaki sadece sessizlik ve yalnızlığa ihtiyaç duyup, bir “yuva” gereksiniminin olmaması da bu imayı onaylar nitelikte. Bütün bunlara rağmen kitap boyunca İza hakkında asla net bir görüş oluşturamıyor insan. Devamlı öfkeden, anlayışa ilerleyen ve sonunda ruhsuz bırakılmış bir “kurban” kategorisine indirgediğiniz bir karakter.
Magda Szabo bir anne kız ilişkisi ve gündelik hayatın sıradan detayları üzerinden; Macaristan’ın yakın siyasi tarihi ve değişimlerini, iki farklı dünyayı, sokaklarının, kırsalının ve kent yaşamının dönüşümünü çok etkileyici bir şekilde anlatıyor. Yazım tarzına ve anlatısına hayran oldum, çok sevdim. Bu ay da “Kapı” kitabını okuyacağım. Yazarla mutlaka tanışın ve İza’nın Şarkısı’nı okuyun.
Kitap 1963 yılında yazılmış olmasına rağmen halen güncelliğini koruyor. Anne-kız ilişkileri, aile ve sosyal roller, yaşlanma, “ev-yuva” kavramları ile iyilik- bencillik üzerine derin bir psikolojik portre çıkartıyor. Budapeşte günleri, evinden, eşyalarından kopmanın ve gündelik sorumluluklarından “kurtulma”nın sonucu olarak anne Etelka için bir yoksunluk dönemi halini alıyor. İnsanlarla olan bağlarını, çevreye ilgisini, dünyaya dair açlığını yavaş yavaş kaybetmesiyle duygusal olarak dikkatinizi kendisinde topluyor.
Ancak İza oldukça karışık yapısıyla, daha trajik bir hayatı temsil ediyor. Antal ile ilk karşılaşmalarından itibaren “küçük asker” karakteri atfedilen İza, dışarıdan kusursuz ve kahraman gibi görünen ama içinde bireysel özgürlük ile kendi kendine yetebilme temelinin önceliğinden dolayı sevgiden yoksun büyüyen; savaş sonrası gelen komünist neslin temsilcisi gibi. Yazarın aldığı kişisel yaralar ve sansürle mücadelesinin sonucu olarak bu rejime karşı oluşturduğu sessiz bir protesto gibi. İza çocukluğundan beri iyi, sorumlu, her zaman görevlerini yerine getiren ve doğru davranan kişi konumunda. Ancak bunun geri planında ailesine, sevdiği adamlara karşı görevini yerine getiren ve buna kırılganlığı, sevgiyi, boyun eğmeyi ve aşkı karıştırmadan yapan birisi. Zaten “ev” kavramına bakışındaki sadece sessizlik ve yalnızlığa ihtiyaç duyup, bir “yuva” gereksiniminin olmaması da bu imayı onaylar nitelikte. Bütün bunlara rağmen kitap boyunca İza hakkında asla net bir görüş oluşturamıyor insan. Devamlı öfkeden, anlayışa ilerleyen ve sonunda ruhsuz bırakılmış bir “kurban” kategorisine indirgediğiniz bir karakter.
Magda Szabo bir anne kız ilişkisi ve gündelik hayatın sıradan detayları üzerinden; Macaristan’ın yakın siyasi tarihi ve değişimlerini, iki farklı dünyayı, sokaklarının, kırsalının ve kent yaşamının dönüşümünü çok etkileyici bir şekilde anlatıyor. Yazım tarzına ve anlatısına hayran oldum, çok sevdim. Bu ay da “Kapı” kitabını okuyacağım. Yazarla mutlaka tanışın ve İza’nın Şarkısı’nı okuyun.
October 19, 2021
I really like this author’s writing..she writes with great incite on relationships.
In this novel it is about an aging mother from humble beginnings and her well to do intelligent and caring daughter.
Iza, the daughter, in caring for her mother in her older years..out of love, tries to make her life very easy, but has actually taken away everything that makes her feel like living.
This was an emotional read the story of a couple different relationships and I have one more novel of hers that has been translated to English to read.
If you haven’t read her before.. start with “The Door”.. so good!
In this novel it is about an aging mother from humble beginnings and her well to do intelligent and caring daughter.
Iza, the daughter, in caring for her mother in her older years..out of love, tries to make her life very easy, but has actually taken away everything that makes her feel like living.
This was an emotional read the story of a couple different relationships and I have one more novel of hers that has been translated to English to read.
If you haven’t read her before.. start with “The Door”.. so good!
December 31, 2021
این کتاب سابو هم خیلی دوست داشتم. مطمئنم اگر فرصت بشه دوباره سراغش میرم. در مورد رابطهی مادر و دختری بود که من خیلی خوشم اومد. داستانش، شرح تفاوتها و اختلافات دو نسل، شخصیتها، فضاسازی و پایانش عالی بود.
February 19, 2026
LT/ENG
Ar galima istorijas skaityti nepriartinant jų prie savo gyvenimo, savos patirties? Man kitaip neišeina. Ši istorija tarsi iškirptas kadras iš mūsų daugelio gyvenimų: esamų, buvusių, o ir būsimų. Sunku pripažinti, kad tai esi tu ir tai vyksta su tavimi..gera dirva papurtyti save- iškrauti atidesniam peržiūrėjimui kaip mes mylime, jaučiame, atsiveriame, bendraujame.
Tėvai-vaikai, mama-duktė, vyras-žmona, jaunas-senas, kaimas-miestas, ateitis-praeitis, būti reikalingu-būti našta, gyvenimas-mirtis...
Mama. Pamėgino būti naudinga, pamėgino rūpintis, būti reikalinga, prarado sprendimo laisvę, atrado tylą, baimę pasielgti netinkamai, liko apsupta tik prisiminimų..
Dukra. Mylinti tėvus, pareiginga rūpintis tėvais, bet susidūrus su neišvengiama realybe tenka pripažinti sau, kad erzina viskas, kas griauna jos prisijaukintą gyvenimo ritmą, sukurta asmeninę erdvę...
**************************************
Is it possible to read stories without bringing them closer to your life, your experience? There is no other way for me. This story is like a cut-out frame from our many lives: present, past, and future. It's hard to admit that it's you and it's happening to you.. it's a good ground to shake yourself - unload for a closer look at how we love, feel, open up, communicate.
Parents-children, mother-daughter, husband-wife, young-old, village-city, future-past, being needed-being a burden, life-death...
Mother. Tried to be useful, tried to take care, to be needed, while lost freedom of decision, discovered silence, fear of doing wrong, and remained surrounded only by memories...
Daughter. Loving parents, as a duty taking care of parents, but when facing inevitable reality,she has to admit to herself that everything irritates her that destroys her tamed rhythm of life, and personal space...
🖋️Vadinasi, viskas, ką ji, gyvendama skurde, iš paskutiniųjų stengėsi išgelbėti nuo sudūlėjimo, dingo, ir visiems laikams; daugiau nebus šalia nebylių liudytojų, mačiusius, kaip ji sumaniai, tiesiog virtuoziškai, priešinosi tam viską griaunančiam laikui.
🖋️Nejaugi kiekvienas, kas myli myli va šitaip, pretenduodamas į kiekvieną tavo gyvenimo dieną ir kiekvieną akimirksnį?
🖋️Namie, šalia tėvo, mama atrodė lyg kokia geroji fėja, linksma ir neikyri. Jos rūpinimasis buvo malonus, ji visuomet sukurdavo jaukią aplinką...O dabar ji niekaip nesupranta, jog aš jau visiškai suaugusi ir daugiau man motinos nebereikia...O man nereikia nei per kraštus besilaikančių jausmų, nei kieno nors pagalbos, -as noriu tiktai tylos, aš pavargau. Ar ji tai ištvers? Ar ištversiu aš?
🖋️ mirusieji numiršta visiems laikams, jų niekuo neapdovanosi ir nepradžiuginsi-nei iš noro užglaistyti savo kaltę, nei iš galesčio, nei iš meilės.
🖋️Tu numirei, betgi aš padariau dėl tavęs viską, ką tik galėjau, tik tu pati nemokėjai tuo naudotis..
Ar galima istorijas skaityti nepriartinant jų prie savo gyvenimo, savos patirties? Man kitaip neišeina. Ši istorija tarsi iškirptas kadras iš mūsų daugelio gyvenimų: esamų, buvusių, o ir būsimų. Sunku pripažinti, kad tai esi tu ir tai vyksta su tavimi..gera dirva papurtyti save- iškrauti atidesniam peržiūrėjimui kaip mes mylime, jaučiame, atsiveriame, bendraujame.
Tėvai-vaikai, mama-duktė, vyras-žmona, jaunas-senas, kaimas-miestas, ateitis-praeitis, būti reikalingu-būti našta, gyvenimas-mirtis...
Mama. Pamėgino būti naudinga, pamėgino rūpintis, būti reikalinga, prarado sprendimo laisvę, atrado tylą, baimę pasielgti netinkamai, liko apsupta tik prisiminimų..
Dukra. Mylinti tėvus, pareiginga rūpintis tėvais, bet susidūrus su neišvengiama realybe tenka pripažinti sau, kad erzina viskas, kas griauna jos prisijaukintą gyvenimo ritmą, sukurta asmeninę erdvę...
**************************************
Is it possible to read stories without bringing them closer to your life, your experience? There is no other way for me. This story is like a cut-out frame from our many lives: present, past, and future. It's hard to admit that it's you and it's happening to you.. it's a good ground to shake yourself - unload for a closer look at how we love, feel, open up, communicate.
Parents-children, mother-daughter, husband-wife, young-old, village-city, future-past, being needed-being a burden, life-death...
Mother. Tried to be useful, tried to take care, to be needed, while lost freedom of decision, discovered silence, fear of doing wrong, and remained surrounded only by memories...
Daughter. Loving parents, as a duty taking care of parents, but when facing inevitable reality,she has to admit to herself that everything irritates her that destroys her tamed rhythm of life, and personal space...
🖋️Vadinasi, viskas, ką ji, gyvendama skurde, iš paskutiniųjų stengėsi išgelbėti nuo sudūlėjimo, dingo, ir visiems laikams; daugiau nebus šalia nebylių liudytojų, mačiusius, kaip ji sumaniai, tiesiog virtuoziškai, priešinosi tam viską griaunančiam laikui.
🖋️Nejaugi kiekvienas, kas myli myli va šitaip, pretenduodamas į kiekvieną tavo gyvenimo dieną ir kiekvieną akimirksnį?
🖋️Namie, šalia tėvo, mama atrodė lyg kokia geroji fėja, linksma ir neikyri. Jos rūpinimasis buvo malonus, ji visuomet sukurdavo jaukią aplinką...O dabar ji niekaip nesupranta, jog aš jau visiškai suaugusi ir daugiau man motinos nebereikia...O man nereikia nei per kraštus besilaikančių jausmų, nei kieno nors pagalbos, -as noriu tiktai tylos, aš pavargau. Ar ji tai ištvers? Ar ištversiu aš?
🖋️ mirusieji numiršta visiems laikams, jų niekuo neapdovanosi ir nepradžiuginsi-nei iš noro užglaistyti savo kaltę, nei iš galesčio, nei iš meilės.
🖋️Tu numirei, betgi aš padariau dėl tavęs viską, ką tik galėjau, tik tu pati nemokėjai tuo naudotis..
November 8, 2022
"‘Everything has changed,’ the old woman thought. ‘I can’t tell what is what any more, only that nothing is as it was.’"
This novel didn't do it for me like the author's The Door did. I didn't think about it when I wasn't reading nor did I look forward to picking it up again. When I did, I felt ambivalent.
Partly this was due to the fact that I felt like a distant observer, never close enough to the old woman (Ettie). She was always at least an arm's length away.
I felt for her nonetheless, this old woman whose husband has just died and who is being carted off to the big city (Budapest) to live with her successful daughter.
Ettie thought she could take along most of her belongings, the things she had known throughout her long life and felt connected with. Her daughter Iza thought otherwise.
I didn't like Iza at all. We got off to a bad start near the beginning when she left the old woman's dog behind. What kind of monstrous person does that?!
I doubt Iza could ever have endeared herself to me after that, even if she hadn't continued to get more selfish as the pages went on.
Maybe as a doctor she understood the physical body but she was clueless when it came to her mother's mental well-being, what would make her happy and comfortable and give her a sense of purpose.
The book was as much about Iza as Ettie and then there was quite a bit about some other people as well, including Iza's ex, Antel. I didn't care about them. I wanted to read about the old woman (as she is usually referred to in the book) not about selfish Iza or kindly Antel or anyone else.
Iza's Ballad was published in 1963 and the old woman was 75 (tbc, that's not really all that old). The world had changed drastically since she was a girl and she harbored a mistrust of machines, even feared them at times.
It made me smile to read, "The old woman didn’t trust the refrigerator, complaining that there was no real ice there; she’d gather up the leftovers in a saucepan and put it out on the balcony".
There might have been some sweet parts and it's not a bad book. However, I doubt I'll remember it a week from now.
This novel didn't do it for me like the author's The Door did. I didn't think about it when I wasn't reading nor did I look forward to picking it up again. When I did, I felt ambivalent.
Partly this was due to the fact that I felt like a distant observer, never close enough to the old woman (Ettie). She was always at least an arm's length away.
I felt for her nonetheless, this old woman whose husband has just died and who is being carted off to the big city (Budapest) to live with her successful daughter.
Ettie thought she could take along most of her belongings, the things she had known throughout her long life and felt connected with. Her daughter Iza thought otherwise.
I didn't like Iza at all. We got off to a bad start near the beginning when she left the old woman's dog behind. What kind of monstrous person does that?!
I doubt Iza could ever have endeared herself to me after that, even if she hadn't continued to get more selfish as the pages went on.
Maybe as a doctor she understood the physical body but she was clueless when it came to her mother's mental well-being, what would make her happy and comfortable and give her a sense of purpose.
The book was as much about Iza as Ettie and then there was quite a bit about some other people as well, including Iza's ex, Antel. I didn't care about them. I wanted to read about the old woman (as she is usually referred to in the book) not about selfish Iza or kindly Antel or anyone else.
Iza's Ballad was published in 1963 and the old woman was 75 (tbc, that's not really all that old). The world had changed drastically since she was a girl and she harbored a mistrust of machines, even feared them at times.
It made me smile to read, "The old woman didn’t trust the refrigerator, complaining that there was no real ice there; she’d gather up the leftovers in a saucepan and put it out on the balcony".
There might have been some sweet parts and it's not a bad book. However, I doubt I'll remember it a week from now.
December 6, 2016
This seems to be only the third of the late Magda Szabó's books to appear in English translation. It was published in Hungary in 1963, and like The Door, it is a story of generational differences, but this time the key relationship is between Ettie, an old country woman and her daughter Iza, a city doctor.
When Ettie's husband Vince dies, Iza arranges for Ettie to move from her old-fashioned house in a rural town into her modern flat in the capital Pest. What follows is tragic, moving and beautifully written. Ettie is unable to adjust or find any purpose to her new life - having spent her whole life supporting a husband with physical work, she finds herself redundant in Iza's tightly controlled world, and seems to upset Iza with everything she tries to do. The central theme is that love alone does not prevent people, even close family, from hurting one another deeply and failing to comprehend one another's needs and aspirations. Another theme is the contrast between the old fashioned rural Hungary and the modern city, there is also quite a lot of history and there is a subplot involving Iza's ex-husband Antal, who was Vince's doctor and has bought and moved into the old couple's house.
This is a melancholy book, but a hauntingly memorable and deeply moving one, and if anything else Szabó wrote is as good as this and The Door, their translation into English is long overdue.
When Ettie's husband Vince dies, Iza arranges for Ettie to move from her old-fashioned house in a rural town into her modern flat in the capital Pest. What follows is tragic, moving and beautifully written. Ettie is unable to adjust or find any purpose to her new life - having spent her whole life supporting a husband with physical work, she finds herself redundant in Iza's tightly controlled world, and seems to upset Iza with everything she tries to do. The central theme is that love alone does not prevent people, even close family, from hurting one another deeply and failing to comprehend one another's needs and aspirations. Another theme is the contrast between the old fashioned rural Hungary and the modern city, there is also quite a lot of history and there is a subplot involving Iza's ex-husband Antal, who was Vince's doctor and has bought and moved into the old couple's house.
This is a melancholy book, but a hauntingly memorable and deeply moving one, and if anything else Szabó wrote is as good as this and The Door, their translation into English is long overdue.
August 9, 2017
Exquisite. Deeply lonely and hit me hard. Too close to home.
January 23, 2022
من دیگ جوشان میخواستم و او آرامپز بود!ا
واقعا فقط "ماگدا سابو" میتونست از توی چنان موضوع کممایهای، چنین قصهای بنویسه که آدم رو برای به آخر رسوندن کتاب همچنان ترغیب کنه. اما از کیفیت قصهگویی کتاب و پرداخت پرجزئیات شخصیتهای داستان که بگذریم، کتاب فاقد اون ضربههای مهلکی بود که من توی کتابها دنبالشون میگردم و عاشقشون هستم. خیلی کم افتوخیز و کم محتوا بود.
عدم توانایی در عشق ورزیدن و ضعف در ارتباط گرفتن با دیگران، بخاطر بیش از حد جدی بودن و منضبط بودن و خلاصه غرق کار بودن، رو میشه محور اصلی کتاب عنوان کرد که کمابیش هم خوب از پسش براومده. اینکه آدم مزخرفی باشی اما خودت متوجه نباشی که آدم مزخرفی هستی. داستان راجع به یک همچین شخصیتیه و ارتباطاتش با خانوادش و نزدیکانش. اما همونطور که گفتم پیچ و خم بخصوصی نداره و همینش منو خسته کرد. البته یک سری جزئیاتش میتونه باعث بشه آدمهای مسن رو بهتر درک کنید. اینش خوب بود.
پ.ن: کتاب رو صوتی گوش کردم با صدای شرگان انورزاده. بسیار خوب بود و با توجه به نوع داستان، اگر از من میپرسید همین صوتیش رو تهیه کنید و لابلای کارهاتون گوش کنید. اصلا چیزی نداره که مجبور بشید بزنید عقب یا ماجرا رو گم کنید. خیــــلی آروم! دشواری نداریم اصلا!ا
واقعا فقط "ماگدا سابو" میتونست از توی چنان موضوع کممایهای، چنین قصهای بنویسه که آدم رو برای به آخر رسوندن کتاب همچنان ترغیب کنه. اما از کیفیت قصهگویی کتاب و پرداخت پرجزئیات شخصیتهای داستان که بگذریم، کتاب فاقد اون ضربههای مهلکی بود که من توی کتابها دنبالشون میگردم و عاشقشون هستم. خیلی کم افتوخیز و کم محتوا بود.
عدم توانایی در عشق ورزیدن و ضعف در ارتباط گرفتن با دیگران، بخاطر بیش از حد جدی بودن و منضبط بودن و خلاصه غرق کار بودن، رو میشه محور اصلی کتاب عنوان کرد که کمابیش هم خوب از پسش براومده. اینکه آدم مزخرفی باشی اما خودت متوجه نباشی که آدم مزخرفی هستی. داستان راجع به یک همچین شخصیتیه و ارتباطاتش با خانوادش و نزدیکانش. اما همونطور که گفتم پیچ و خم بخصوصی نداره و همینش منو خسته کرد. البته یک سری جزئیاتش میتونه باعث بشه آدمهای مسن رو بهتر درک کنید. اینش خوب بود.
پ.ن: کتاب رو صوتی گوش کردم با صدای شرگان انورزاده. بسیار خوب بود و با توجه به نوع داستان، اگر از من میپرسید همین صوتیش رو تهیه کنید و لابلای کارهاتون گوش کنید. اصلا چیزی نداره که مجبور بشید بزنید عقب یا ماجرا رو گم کنید. خیــــلی آروم! دشواری نداریم اصلا!ا
November 29, 2022
بخشی از کتاب منو یاد داستان توکیو از یاسوجیرو اُزو انداخت.
تا الان دو رمان از سابو خوندم و بنظرم هر دو متوسط بودن هرچند میشه معنای عمیقی ازشون بیرون کشید. این تقصیر سابو نیست که من رمان عالی زیاد خوندم :))
این روزا هرچی میخونم توش یه مادری میمیره
تا الان دو رمان از سابو خوندم و بنظرم هر دو متوسط بودن هرچند میشه معنای عمیقی ازشون بیرون کشید. این تقصیر سابو نیست که من رمان عالی زیاد خوندم :))
این روزا هرچی میخونم توش یه مادری میمیره
April 12, 2021
13 sene önce okumuştum bu kitabı. Kitapçıda çalışıyordum. Yeni gelen kitapların arasından çıkmıştı. Kapağını hoş bulmuş ama çok da ilgilenmemiştim. Mağazanın ön kısmındaki masalardan birinde yer açtım, koydum. Birkaç gün sonra ön taraflarda oyalanırken alışveriş merkezinin içinde transa geçmiş gibi yürüyen bir kadın dikkatimi çekti. Etrafındaki hiçbir şeyle ilgilenmeden, müthiş bir kararlılıkla ama başka bi zamanda, başka bi dünyada yürüyormuş gibi ilerliyordu. Benim şaşkın bakışlarım arasında bizim mağazaya girip benim durduğum yere geldi, eliyle koymuş gibi Iza'nın Şarkısı'nı alıp bana çevirdi, "Bu yazarın ne kadar kitabı varsa istiyorum," dedi. Ben biraz da korku soslu bir şaşkınlıkla ilk anda harekete geçemedim. Kadın açıklama yapma ihtiyacı duymuş olacak, "Az önce bitirdim Iza'yı," dedi. "Çok, çok etkilendim. Bu yazarın nesi var nesi yoksa verin." Sadece bir kitabı daha vardı o zaman. Verdim. Yıllar sonra bile kadının o hali aklımdadır. O gün de bu halin etkisiyle kitabı alıp okumaya başladım.
İlk okuyuşumda, kitabı bitirdikten sonra iki üç hafta başka hiçbir şey okuyamadım. Karakterler sürekli aklımdaydı, benimleydi. Metroya binerken Etelka'nın tramvayları geliyordu aklıma. Antel ne yaptı acaba o işi falan diye düşünürken yakalıyordum kendimi. Tek tek bütün karakterlere sızlamıştı içim. Ama -şimdi, ikinci okuyuşumdan sonra fark ediyorum bunu- his yordamıyla duyulan bir sızıydı bu. Henüz anlayarak sızlayacak olgunluğa erişmemiştim. Hayat o hislerin yakınından geçirmemişti beni henüz.
Aradan geçen dönemde hep geçti adı beni etkileyen kitaplar arasında. Bende bıraktığı etkiyi ve genel hatlarıyla konuyu hatırlasam da pek çok detayı silindi sonra. Oysa insanda böyle bir etkiyi ancak o silinen detaylar bırakabilir. Son dönemde önerdiğim birkaç kişiden duygularını belirten mesajlar alınca içimde bir tekrar okuma iştahı kabardı, okudum. İkinci okuyuşumda, hepi topu 11 sayfalık ilk bölümü bitirince kitabı elimden bırakıp yaklaşık bir yarım saat kadar, süreyi de bilmiyorum aslında, telefon çalıp da beni dünyaya çağırana kadar boş boş karşıya baktım. İlk bölüm, ilk okuduğumda da içimi acıtmıştır muhakkak. Empatisi yüksek insanlardanım ben. Ama o zaman bu yaşadıklarımı yaşamamıştım ben. Etelka'nın, Iza'nın ve hatta Vince'nin hislerini bu kadar iyi anlayabilecek durumda değildim. Anlayarak sızladım bu kez. Anlayarak sızlamak zor... İnsan anlatmaya da utanıyor anladığını. Anlayan insan her şeyi diyebiliyor da "Anlıyorum," diyemiyor bazen.
Bu kitabın olayı bu bence. Anlamak. Gerçekten yahut his yordamıyla, fark etmez. Romanda iç dünyalarına değinilen karakterlerin hepsini, birbirleriyle çelişen, birbirlerini yaralayan kararlarına rağmen hepsini anlıyorsunuz. Hatalısı, suçlusu olmayan bir trajedi bir trajedi gibi... Tabii içinde biriken isyanı boşaltabileceği bir karakter de olmayınca insanın, bütün karakterler o bir türlü patlayamayan balonla birlikte, bir müddet daha içinde yaşamaya devam ediyor okuyanın.
Bu kez üç hafta hiçbir şey okuyamamak gibi bir şansım yok ama üç saattir işe başlamaktan kaçıyorum.
İlk okuyuşumda, kitabı bitirdikten sonra iki üç hafta başka hiçbir şey okuyamadım. Karakterler sürekli aklımdaydı, benimleydi. Metroya binerken Etelka'nın tramvayları geliyordu aklıma. Antel ne yaptı acaba o işi falan diye düşünürken yakalıyordum kendimi. Tek tek bütün karakterlere sızlamıştı içim. Ama -şimdi, ikinci okuyuşumdan sonra fark ediyorum bunu- his yordamıyla duyulan bir sızıydı bu. Henüz anlayarak sızlayacak olgunluğa erişmemiştim. Hayat o hislerin yakınından geçirmemişti beni henüz.
Aradan geçen dönemde hep geçti adı beni etkileyen kitaplar arasında. Bende bıraktığı etkiyi ve genel hatlarıyla konuyu hatırlasam da pek çok detayı silindi sonra. Oysa insanda böyle bir etkiyi ancak o silinen detaylar bırakabilir. Son dönemde önerdiğim birkaç kişiden duygularını belirten mesajlar alınca içimde bir tekrar okuma iştahı kabardı, okudum. İkinci okuyuşumda, hepi topu 11 sayfalık ilk bölümü bitirince kitabı elimden bırakıp yaklaşık bir yarım saat kadar, süreyi de bilmiyorum aslında, telefon çalıp da beni dünyaya çağırana kadar boş boş karşıya baktım. İlk bölüm, ilk okuduğumda da içimi acıtmıştır muhakkak. Empatisi yüksek insanlardanım ben. Ama o zaman bu yaşadıklarımı yaşamamıştım ben. Etelka'nın, Iza'nın ve hatta Vince'nin hislerini bu kadar iyi anlayabilecek durumda değildim. Anlayarak sızladım bu kez. Anlayarak sızlamak zor... İnsan anlatmaya da utanıyor anladığını. Anlayan insan her şeyi diyebiliyor da "Anlıyorum," diyemiyor bazen.
Bu kitabın olayı bu bence. Anlamak. Gerçekten yahut his yordamıyla, fark etmez. Romanda iç dünyalarına değinilen karakterlerin hepsini, birbirleriyle çelişen, birbirlerini yaralayan kararlarına rağmen hepsini anlıyorsunuz. Hatalısı, suçlusu olmayan bir trajedi bir trajedi gibi... Tabii içinde biriken isyanı boşaltabileceği bir karakter de olmayınca insanın, bütün karakterler o bir türlü patlayamayan balonla birlikte, bir müddet daha içinde yaşamaya devam ediyor okuyanın.
Bu kez üç hafta hiçbir şey okuyamamak gibi bir şansım yok ama üç saattir işe başlamaktan kaçıyorum.
July 10, 2021
اولین اثری که از ماگدا سابو خوندم و جادوم کرد! چقدر شخصیتهای اصلی (ایزا و مادر پیرش) برام ملموس و قابل درک بودن. تراژدی زندگی ، تفاوتها و سرانجامی تلخ
January 25, 2021
This book is incredibly sad! I was reading with a lump in my throat for much of the latter parts of the book. There’s overwhelming emotion because so many of these people just don’t understand each other even if they are family or lovers. There is silence and assumptions when they should be asking what the person actually wants. I felt terrible for Ettie, Iza’s elderly mother who has just been widowed. There is so much grief unspoken even while her husband is dying. Iza although highly intelligent seems to lack the ability to show emotion, she likes everything organised and correct but seems to lack empathy to see what her mother actually needs. She moves her from the village house she has lived in even before she was married to Iza’s modern flat in Budapest.
There’s much more to this novel , the history, both family and country, the changes as the society modernises, the different relationships between neighbours, classes, students and medical staff and so much more.
This novel is beautifully written and the characters are so well drawn I wanted to hug or shake or yell at them!
There’s much more to this novel , the history, both family and country, the changes as the society modernises, the different relationships between neighbours, classes, students and medical staff and so much more.
This novel is beautifully written and the characters are so well drawn I wanted to hug or shake or yell at them!
May 14, 2025
کتابی که با روایت آروم و دلنشینش، کمکم تو رو غرق احساسی میکنه که شاید هیچوقت تجربه نکرده باشی، یا حتی فکرش رو هم نکرده باشی که وجود داشته باشه.
June 2, 2025
صفحات آخر را بلند بلند خواندم.
تمام که شد، کتاب را بستم و آنرا در آغوش کشیدم...
تمام که شد، کتاب را بستم و آنرا در آغوش کشیدم...
August 28, 2023
ایزای بی پناه
چه بیرحمانه به ایزا می تازه و می کوبه و لهش می کنه و بعدم یه گوشه ویرون و حیرون رهاش می کنه تا به کارای زشتش فکر کنه. در حالی که دقیقا چه کار زشتی؟ بله! سوال اینجاست چه کار زشتی؟
مگه ایزا دقیقا چه کار کرد؟
یه غول وحشتناک بی شاخ و دم بود؟ چرا باید اینهمه بلا سرش بیاری تازه اونم بعد از اون همه مفید بودن! و در نهایتم اینطوری به نتیجه برسی که همچین آدمی حقشه همچین سرنوشتی! که همسرش اونطوری پسش بزنه و بره، که پدرش اونطوری موقع مرگ بارها ازش شکایت کنه که دختری نبود که بتونم اون ترانه رو تا ته باهاش بخونم، که مادرش هیچوقت نتونست با شرایط کنار بیاد و بخاطر حادثه ای مرد و تمام هزینه این حادثه به پای ایزا نوشته شد! که دوست پسرش از ترس قوی بودن و دیدن پیشینه روابط ایزا سه سوت ترکش کرد و رفت که رفت. و در نهایتم ایزا بشه درس عبرت سایرین که ببین اگه مث ایزا باشی هیشکی دوسِت نداره و تنهای تنها می مونی. ایزای بی پناه
اما ایزا کیه؟
ایزا مثل خیلی از دخترای این کره خاکیه که در درون خودش قدرتی بیشتر از فقط زن بودن و قشنگ بودن و ناز و ملوس بودن سراغ داره. نه اینکه فقط زن بودن مشکلی داشته باشه! ولی فقط زن بودن تورو محدود می کنه به فقط زن بودن. با همه اون کلیشه های جنسیتی مشخص و نخ نما که در همه اعصار و ادوار ازت انتظار می رفته و میره و خواهد رفت
شک نکنید ایزا هم توی زندگیش هزاران بار سکوت کرد تا دل پدر مادرش نشکنه. تازه تک فرزند بود و کل بار فرزندی رو دوشش
ایزا هیچ گناهی نداشت جر اینکه یه سری از خصلتهاش ذاتی بودن. دست خودش نبود. منضبط و مرتب بود. همیشه برای همه چیز برنامه داشت. بدون برنامه نمی تونست کارهاشو مدیریت کنه. فعالیت اجتماعی و کاری براش خیلی مهم بود. توی روابط خصوصی و ازدواجش یه سری داستانا مثل مراسم و ماه عسل و لباس و آرایشگاه و ... مسخره و اضافی بود. توی ابراز احساسات یکم ناراحت بود. براحتی نمی تونست قربون صدقه و غش و ضعف بره. و یه سری خصلتهاش با بزرگ شدن بهش اضافه شدن. ایزا خیلی محکم بود. از یه جا به بعد مجبور شد محکم باشه. همون پدر مادری که حالا مرگشون افتاده گردن ایزا (حداقل مرگ مادر) و با نبودنشون داره تنبه میشه، باعث این شدن. ایزا مجبور بود یه تنه مسئولیت خیلی از کارا و انتخابای اون دو تا رو هم به دوش بکشه. ایزا واقعا تنها بود
مادرش بشدت منفعل و ترسو بود. اقتدار نداشت. همیشه می ایستاد تا بقیه براش تصمیم بگیرن! چنین مادری شده بود درس عبرت ایزا! ایزا دوبل و شاید سوبل مجبور شد تا مقتدر باشه. تا محکم و عمیق باشه. جایی برای احساسی بازی نمی موند. که اگه خطا میکرد هزینه زیادی باید می پرداخت
خیلی راحت میشه ایستاد و انگشت اشاره رو گرفت سمت ایزا! اما ایزا چنین شد. نه اینکه بخواد این باشه! راهی براش نمونده بود. برای این شخصیت این مسیر مشخص و از قبل نوشته شده بود
همیشه بچه ها بدهکارن! تهِ همه داستانای این چنینی این بچه ها هستن که باعث تباهی شدن و پدر مادری که نقش فرشته رو بازی می کنن مظلوم و منفعل فقط ناظرن تا با یه حادثه جبران ناپذیرِ وحشتناک فرزند خاطی و قدرنشناس شون تنبیه و تادیب بشه!
با اینکه زمان رمان برای ده ها سال قبل هست، اما هنوز جوابه. هنوزم روابط با همین الگو کم و بیش پیش میرن
ایزاهای زیادی رو سراغ دارم. ایزاهایی که با پدر مادر، بخصوص مادر 50-60 ساله شون بشدت حفره دارن
نسخه مشخصی براش نمیشه پیچید. بخصوص توی جوامعی مثل ما که پدر مادر در حد بت پرستیده میشن و این همیشه فرزنده که ایراد داره و کوتاهی کرده و سزاوار تنبیه و سرزنشه
شاید لازمه از اونورم به ماجرا نگاه کرد
روند داستان بشدت سر راست و نرم و روونه. به خوبی آدمو با خودش همراه می کنه. ولی ذهن منو درگیر کرد
درکل روابط بین انسانها شدیدا پیچیده س و روابط خانوادگی و نزدیک پیچیده تر
بخصوص که یه طرف رابطه یه طورایی هم ضعف داشته باشه. حالا یا بخاطر جنسیت یا سن و سال یا قوای بدنی
طرف قوی تر هر تصمیم ناآشنا یا خلاف روندی بگیره به حساب قدرت و قلدریش تعبیر میشه و احتمالا مستحق سرزنش و تنبیهه!
ایزای بی پناه
از کتاب لذت نبردم
حرص خوردم و به زمین و زمون بد و بیراه گفتم
🌟📚🌟
چه بیرحمانه به ایزا می تازه و می کوبه و لهش می کنه و بعدم یه گوشه ویرون و حیرون رهاش می کنه تا به کارای زشتش فکر کنه. در حالی که دقیقا چه کار زشتی؟ بله! سوال اینجاست چه کار زشتی؟
مگه ایزا دقیقا چه کار کرد؟
یه غول وحشتناک بی شاخ و دم بود؟ چرا باید اینهمه بلا سرش بیاری تازه اونم بعد از اون همه مفید بودن! و در نهایتم اینطوری به نتیجه برسی که همچین آدمی حقشه همچین سرنوشتی! که همسرش اونطوری پسش بزنه و بره، که پدرش اونطوری موقع مرگ بارها ازش شکایت کنه که دختری نبود که بتونم اون ترانه رو تا ته باهاش بخونم، که مادرش هیچوقت نتونست با شرایط کنار بیاد و بخاطر حادثه ای مرد و تمام هزینه این حادثه به پای ایزا نوشته شد! که دوست پسرش از ترس قوی بودن و دیدن پیشینه روابط ایزا سه سوت ترکش کرد و رفت که رفت. و در نهایتم ایزا بشه درس عبرت سایرین که ببین اگه مث ایزا باشی هیشکی دوسِت نداره و تنهای تنها می مونی. ایزای بی پناه
اما ایزا کیه؟
ایزا مثل خیلی از دخترای این کره خاکیه که در درون خودش قدرتی بیشتر از فقط زن بودن و قشنگ بودن و ناز و ملوس بودن سراغ داره. نه اینکه فقط زن بودن مشکلی داشته باشه! ولی فقط زن بودن تورو محدود می کنه به فقط زن بودن. با همه اون کلیشه های جنسیتی مشخص و نخ نما که در همه اعصار و ادوار ازت انتظار می رفته و میره و خواهد رفت
شک نکنید ایزا هم توی زندگیش هزاران بار سکوت کرد تا دل پدر مادرش نشکنه. تازه تک فرزند بود و کل بار فرزندی رو دوشش
ایزا هیچ گناهی نداشت جر اینکه یه سری از خصلتهاش ذاتی بودن. دست خودش نبود. منضبط و مرتب بود. همیشه برای همه چیز برنامه داشت. بدون برنامه نمی تونست کارهاشو مدیریت کنه. فعالیت اجتماعی و کاری براش خیلی مهم بود. توی روابط خصوصی و ازدواجش یه سری داستانا مثل مراسم و ماه عسل و لباس و آرایشگاه و ... مسخره و اضافی بود. توی ابراز احساسات یکم ناراحت بود. براحتی نمی تونست قربون صدقه و غش و ضعف بره. و یه سری خصلتهاش با بزرگ شدن بهش اضافه شدن. ایزا خیلی محکم بود. از یه جا به بعد مجبور شد محکم باشه. همون پدر مادری که حالا مرگشون افتاده گردن ایزا (حداقل مرگ مادر) و با نبودنشون داره تنبه میشه، باعث این شدن. ایزا مجبور بود یه تنه مسئولیت خیلی از کارا و انتخابای اون دو تا رو هم به دوش بکشه. ایزا واقعا تنها بود
مادرش بشدت منفعل و ترسو بود. اقتدار نداشت. همیشه می ایستاد تا بقیه براش تصمیم بگیرن! چنین مادری شده بود درس عبرت ایزا! ایزا دوبل و شاید سوبل مجبور شد تا مقتدر باشه. تا محکم و عمیق باشه. جایی برای احساسی بازی نمی موند. که اگه خطا میکرد هزینه زیادی باید می پرداخت
خیلی راحت میشه ایستاد و انگشت اشاره رو گرفت سمت ایزا! اما ایزا چنین شد. نه اینکه بخواد این باشه! راهی براش نمونده بود. برای این شخصیت این مسیر مشخص و از قبل نوشته شده بود
همیشه بچه ها بدهکارن! تهِ همه داستانای این چنینی این بچه ها هستن که باعث تباهی شدن و پدر مادری که نقش فرشته رو بازی می کنن مظلوم و منفعل فقط ناظرن تا با یه حادثه جبران ناپذیرِ وحشتناک فرزند خاطی و قدرنشناس شون تنبیه و تادیب بشه!
با اینکه زمان رمان برای ده ها سال قبل هست، اما هنوز جوابه. هنوزم روابط با همین الگو کم و بیش پیش میرن
ایزاهای زیادی رو سراغ دارم. ایزاهایی که با پدر مادر، بخصوص مادر 50-60 ساله شون بشدت حفره دارن
نسخه مشخصی براش نمیشه پیچید. بخصوص توی جوامعی مثل ما که پدر مادر در حد بت پرستیده میشن و این همیشه فرزنده که ایراد داره و کوتاهی کرده و سزاوار تنبیه و سرزنشه
شاید لازمه از اونورم به ماجرا نگاه کرد
روند داستان بشدت سر راست و نرم و روونه. به خوبی آدمو با خودش همراه می کنه. ولی ذهن منو درگیر کرد
درکل روابط بین انسانها شدیدا پیچیده س و روابط خانوادگی و نزدیک پیچیده تر
بخصوص که یه طرف رابطه یه طورایی هم ضعف داشته باشه. حالا یا بخاطر جنسیت یا سن و سال یا قوای بدنی
طرف قوی تر هر تصمیم ناآشنا یا خلاف روندی بگیره به حساب قدرت و قلدریش تعبیر میشه و احتمالا مستحق سرزنش و تنبیهه!
ایزای بی پناه
از کتاب لذت نبردم
حرص خوردم و به زمین و زمون بد و بیراه گفتم
🌟📚🌟
September 10, 2023
بسیار دوستش داشتم. پر از حس خوب بود برایم.
July 24, 2020
When the patriarch, or matriarch, of a family dies, leaving their spouse behind, family dynamics change. Sometimes things fall apart; the centre cannot hold. (Thank you, Yeats.) I imagine the shift is even more dramatic with a close-knit family unit of only three, the one child having to renegotiate her relationship, and life, with the surviving parent. Iza, the adult child, is emotionally different from her parents and acts upon her belief that she knows best. All her life she’s been adored by parents who believe she can do no wrong, that if they’re bewildered by her, it’s their fault, not the fault of their accomplished daughter. The several characters are well drawn, including Iza’s boyfriend, a writer who’s perhaps a stand-in for Szabo. He and Iza’s ex-husband, Antal, are revealers of Iza’s personality, a separate view from her parents’.
Sections of this work are lovely. The depiction of Antal’s thoughts near the end feels clunky; otherwise his characterization, including his backstory, is strong. Known mostly as “the old woman” throughout the narration, Iza’s mother Ettie (short for Etel) is sweet, unconfident, and selfless. I was reminded of my grandmother who always spoke of herself in the third person, not in a “royal” way but as a humble labeling of her roles, as if that’s the only way she could be defined. Unlike Ettie, my grandmother had more than one child and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren to pour her love on, not to mention her Catholic faith which meant more to her than anything. But what happens when every physical need of an elderly parent is taken care of, much more than she desires, and she no longer feels useful, when that had been her whole life prior? The original title of this book is Pilátus, a meaning that becomes clear, and is perhaps a better title for the work.
The saddest parts of the story are the assumptions made by characters about others’ motives, including those outside the family unit, such as the nurse. These assumptions are usually driven by hurt feelings, sometimes by gossip as depicted in a neighbor, and are generally unspoken. This theme of silence works because it feels organic and is not forced to fit the storyline. As the truths behind the silences are gradually revealed to the reader, this story feels like real life.
Sections of this work are lovely. The depiction of Antal’s thoughts near the end feels clunky; otherwise his characterization, including his backstory, is strong. Known mostly as “the old woman” throughout the narration, Iza’s mother Ettie (short for Etel) is sweet, unconfident, and selfless. I was reminded of my grandmother who always spoke of herself in the third person, not in a “royal” way but as a humble labeling of her roles, as if that’s the only way she could be defined. Unlike Ettie, my grandmother had more than one child and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren to pour her love on, not to mention her Catholic faith which meant more to her than anything. But what happens when every physical need of an elderly parent is taken care of, much more than she desires, and she no longer feels useful, when that had been her whole life prior? The original title of this book is Pilátus, a meaning that becomes clear, and is perhaps a better title for the work.
The saddest parts of the story are the assumptions made by characters about others’ motives, including those outside the family unit, such as the nurse. These assumptions are usually driven by hurt feelings, sometimes by gossip as depicted in a neighbor, and are generally unspoken. This theme of silence works because it feels organic and is not forced to fit the storyline. As the truths behind the silences are gradually revealed to the reader, this story feels like real life.
October 7, 2024
این کتاب موضوعی به مراتب انسانی داره. درباره خانواده، روابط اعضای خانواده با همدیگه، عشق، ایثار، عواطف انسانی، یأس، همدلی، شکاف نسلها و...
داستان خیلی سرراست و بدون افت و خیزهای مشهود دنبال میشه ولی نویسنده با هنرمندی تمام موفق میشه خواننده رو علاقمند تا آخر داستان با خودش همراه کنه.
من به نسخه صوتی کتاب با سرعت دو برابر گوش کردم و دو سه روزه هم تمومشد.
داستان خیلی سرراست و بدون افت و خیزهای مشهود دنبال میشه ولی نویسنده با هنرمندی تمام موفق میشه خواننده رو علاقمند تا آخر داستان با خودش همراه کنه.
من به نسخه صوتی کتاب با سرعت دو برابر گوش کردم و دو سه روزه هم تمومشد.
December 29, 2023
چون وقت نمیکنم تا آخر سال ریویو براش بنویسم، دکمه پایانش رو الان میزنم که توی چالش امسالم حساب بشه. ریویوی اصلی در راهه.
March 18, 2017
Iza's Ballad is the only other novel by Hungarian novelist, Magda Szabó, that has been translated into English. As in The Door, Szabó explores the spaces between people as much as their need for closeness. In both, she communicates the destructive potential of love with startling lucidity. In this novel, Szabó sensitively describes the complex relationship between a mother and daughter.
Iza is a respected doctor in Pest, dedicated to her vocation, and deeply loved by her parents who are proud of but also cowered by her brilliance and independence. She is married to a fellow doctor, Antal, but he soon divorced her for reasons that are gradually unraveled. When her magistrate father, Vince, died, Iza brings her 76-year-old mother, Ettie, to live with her in the city. Although Iza has the best of intentions, Ettis sorely misses her life in the country and has tremendous difficulty adjusting to life in a modern city. To her "Every flight was a form of blasphemy, unnatural, terrifying..." She refuses to use even a bread toaster. Ettie is rarely called by her name in the novel. She is referred to as the ‘old woman’ ostensibly to underline the poor fit between her frugal way of life and that of her pragmatic daughter. Living under the same roof, they try to accommodate each other but the distance between them keeps widening to an alarming and irredeemable degree.
The strength of this story lies in Szabó’s ability to engage the reader’s sympathies toward both women. I felt sorry for the mother – her sense of dislocation, grief over her loss of a spouse and the simple life she knew, desire for her daughter’s presence, and fear of being a burden. At the same time, I understood Iza’s need for her own space, "the melancholy freedom of being alone", and her struggle to spend time with her mother given the challenges of her job. Iza's guilt is understandable, but so is Ettie’s loneliness.
On a personal level, I have found this novel difficult to read. There is an intensity between the mother-daughter relationship that is both familiar and alienating. To me, what is most unsettling is the revelation that one can do what is right and still get it wrong. Solicitude borne of duty and love may not bring people closer to those they love.
I have now read two of Szabó’s novels. They share that finely tuned sensibility that sifts the dross from the precious that resides in the best of us. I prefer The Door but Iza's Ballad is well worth reading too.
Iza is a respected doctor in Pest, dedicated to her vocation, and deeply loved by her parents who are proud of but also cowered by her brilliance and independence. She is married to a fellow doctor, Antal, but he soon divorced her for reasons that are gradually unraveled. When her magistrate father, Vince, died, Iza brings her 76-year-old mother, Ettie, to live with her in the city. Although Iza has the best of intentions, Ettis sorely misses her life in the country and has tremendous difficulty adjusting to life in a modern city. To her "Every flight was a form of blasphemy, unnatural, terrifying..." She refuses to use even a bread toaster. Ettie is rarely called by her name in the novel. She is referred to as the ‘old woman’ ostensibly to underline the poor fit between her frugal way of life and that of her pragmatic daughter. Living under the same roof, they try to accommodate each other but the distance between them keeps widening to an alarming and irredeemable degree.
The strength of this story lies in Szabó’s ability to engage the reader’s sympathies toward both women. I felt sorry for the mother – her sense of dislocation, grief over her loss of a spouse and the simple life she knew, desire for her daughter’s presence, and fear of being a burden. At the same time, I understood Iza’s need for her own space, "the melancholy freedom of being alone", and her struggle to spend time with her mother given the challenges of her job. Iza's guilt is understandable, but so is Ettie’s loneliness.
On a personal level, I have found this novel difficult to read. There is an intensity between the mother-daughter relationship that is both familiar and alienating. To me, what is most unsettling is the revelation that one can do what is right and still get it wrong. Solicitude borne of duty and love may not bring people closer to those they love.
I have now read two of Szabó’s novels. They share that finely tuned sensibility that sifts the dross from the precious that resides in the best of us. I prefer The Door but Iza's Ballad is well worth reading too.
January 31, 2021
Onde estaremos em casa? Será que é onde estão os nossos objetos, carregados de um magnetismo quase brutal que nos levam a sentir saudades deles próprios? Ou será que casa é onde conseguimos amar? Haverá alguns de nós que nunca chegarão a casa, então. A incapacidade de amar, ou a incapacidade de demonstrar esse sentimento. Uma ausência tão grave quanto a de uma parte do corpo.
Magda Szabó escreveu uma obra de arte. Que se aproxima perigosamente da casa de cada um de nós. Admirei a capacidade de me fazer compreender a aflita mente de uma idosa, as atitudes de uma mulher que não sabe amar, de pessoas que, consequentemente, se aproximam ou afastam destas mulheres.
Eu estive lá. Brinquei com o eterno coelho Kápitány, conheço a forma da bengala de Vince, sujei os pés na lama do Barranco do Sândalo, ajudei Antal a carregar a água e entendi a reação do escritor, no final.
Não é fácil demorarmo-nos onde as sensações de evadem com tamanha potência. Este é um livro que fala da solidão dos idosos, de uma rotina que se vai encarregando de empregar interpretações erróneas em torno das ações. De como abrindo o coração poderíamos evitar esses mesmos desencontros entre nós.
Aproximei-me demasiado da minha própria casa. Não que seja feita de solidão. Não que tenha uma caleira que termine em forma de dragão a verter água. Mas porque penso em cada gesto de amor que não fiz, embora houvesse o tal anjo a recomendar-me que o fizesse.
Finalmente um livro conseguiu falar-me de forma tão próxima que parece-me tê-lo gravado em mim próprio.
Magda Szabó escreveu uma obra de arte. Que se aproxima perigosamente da casa de cada um de nós. Admirei a capacidade de me fazer compreender a aflita mente de uma idosa, as atitudes de uma mulher que não sabe amar, de pessoas que, consequentemente, se aproximam ou afastam destas mulheres.
Eu estive lá. Brinquei com o eterno coelho Kápitány, conheço a forma da bengala de Vince, sujei os pés na lama do Barranco do Sândalo, ajudei Antal a carregar a água e entendi a reação do escritor, no final.
Não é fácil demorarmo-nos onde as sensações de evadem com tamanha potência. Este é um livro que fala da solidão dos idosos, de uma rotina que se vai encarregando de empregar interpretações erróneas em torno das ações. De como abrindo o coração poderíamos evitar esses mesmos desencontros entre nós.
Aproximei-me demasiado da minha própria casa. Não que seja feita de solidão. Não que tenha uma caleira que termine em forma de dragão a verter água. Mas porque penso em cada gesto de amor que não fiz, embora houvesse o tal anjo a recomendar-me que o fizesse.
Finalmente um livro conseguiu falar-me de forma tão próxima que parece-me tê-lo gravado em mim próprio.
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