Title: Katalin StreetAuthor: Magda Szabo
Summary: In prewar Budapest, the Elekes, Held and Biro families live side by side on gracious Katalin Street, their lives closely intertwined, their four children inseparable. Then, in 1944, during the German occupation, all their hopes and dreams for the future are shattered. Lives are lost. And those who survive are forever changed. They are haunted, not only by their own guilt and sorrow, but by their longing to return to their former lives on Katalin Street.
Adjectives that describe this novel: introspective, poignant, and bleak
Favorite quotes from Katalin Street:
There were several ornaments and objects from her former home too, but none of them conjured up the magic he had been hoping for. Iren's new abode had turned out to be nothing like the one in Katalin Street, and even here he was haunted by the sense of being somewhere else. The marriage to Iren had showed him that she yearned and pined for Katalin Street just as much as he did, that she had not found it, and neither had her parents, who were locked in the same hopeless quest to recover it ... This tyranny of somewhere else was a cruel one. It stopped Balint from seeing both the reality that existed and what he would have liked that reality to be.
The people who were with me on that day were imprinted on my memory--some of them permanently, some for many years afterward--exactly as they were at the time...
It was the first time in my life that I had an inkling that the dead are not dead but continue living in this world, in one form or another, indestructibly...
It is not only facts that are irreversible, our past reactions and feelings are too. One can neither relive them not alter them.
This isn't exactly a happy read, but it is an interesting and thoughtful one. (It's also not very long.) I like reading about Europe, and World War II, and the time period following it during the Soviet occupation; I think it's important for all of us to know and remember what those times were like for the people who had to endure them. So even though this novel is a little depressing and sad...
Happy Reading!
Books don’t always have to be happy. They can be sad. This one sounds like an important read.
ReplyDeleteIt definitely chronicles an important time in history; and I thought her writing style was amazing.
DeleteI don't think I've ever read a novel set in Budapest. The author's name is familiar, but I don't think I've ever come across her books. Maybe our library will have this one.
ReplyDeleteFingers crossed! :)
DeleteIt does sound sad. Real life was sad at that time, especially in Europe! Glad to hear it was an important read even though it was depressing. :)
ReplyDeleteI'd just never read anything set in Budapest at that time. So that part was interesting; but the characters' lives were pretty bleak.
DeleteThanks for your review and I so agree, we need to know what life was like in Europe before during and after World War II. We take for granted the countries and time periods we are born into and Katalin Street a reminder of how suddenly things can change for the worse.
ReplyDeleteWe do take for granted when and where we live. This book certainly made me more grateful for the freedoms and blessings I enjoy.
DeleteIt does sounds like a sad read but most importantly it has conveyed the meaning behind this story.
ReplyDeleteThat's a good way to put it. :)
DeleteWe forget about what happened after the war, especially in those countries occupied by the Soviets. It is good to be reminded of how times can change.
ReplyDeleteI agree. And I'm glad more books like this one are being published, and reprinted...and also that my library has them. :)
DeleteGreat review! This does sound good and I agree with everyone that it is interesting and important to know how life was radically altered for so many in Europe post WWII. I have Szabo's The Door on my TBR but haven't gotten to it yet.
ReplyDeleteIf you get around to reading The Door soon let me know how you like it. I've been debating whether or not if I want to read more of Szabo's writing, and I kind of think I do. :)
DeleteSounds like such a great book! I'm glad you posted about it :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Nadia!
DeleteI like reading about this time period too and to see how the lives of so many people were affected. I hadn't heard of this book but it sounds like a good one to take note of!
ReplyDeleteI'd never heard of it either, but it was on display at my library as a new purchase. :)
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