Abigail (New York Review Books Classics)

Where do I even begin? Perhaps here: while reading Abigail, I barely came up for breath. It is that rare book that totally blots out the real world and substitutes another world that is so genuine and raw and mesmerizing that the twinning of reader and plot soon become complete. I would count it among the five best contemporary books I have ever read – and I have read a lot of books! First, the title: I assumed Abigail was the name of the book’s protagonist. Not so. Gina Vitay, a headstrong young teen who is the spoiled only child of a reticent and honorable General, is the core of the story. As the tides of battle shift against Hungary and the Axis powers in the mid-1940s, Gina is summarily informed that she will be exiled to a grim religious boarding school fortress in the middle of nowhere—and no amount of pleading will make a difference. As Gina adjusts to the authoritarian school, part of the intrigue is witnessing the school and the outside events from the perspective of a 14-year-old. The majority of readers will immediately understand the reasons behind the General’s decision (Gina is sure it is because her father wants to remarry and rid himself of her), and they will also recognize what drives the adults who are in charge of her care and quickly guess who can be most trusted. For Gina, the only one to trust is Abigail, a statue in the outside garden who, for decades, has been the recipient of many heartbroken schoolgirl’s laments and cries for guidance. Abigail actually fixes things for girls in trouble with real, handwritten answers. Obviously, the status is not a supernatural force but what cloistered person has adopted the persona of Abigail? Is it someone who treats Gina and the others with obsequious politeness or someone stern and overbearing? It is a mystery that I solved early on but whether a reader does or not matters little. What really matters is the journey to self-knowledge and to what values are most essential. Gina will inevitably reach a crucial juncture where her childhood and illusions will be shattered forever she will don the heavy cloak of premature adulthood and that scene will remain among the most memorable I have read. And she will recognize some universal truths: “…how much more special something was if you had had to struggle to achieve it, and how much stronger you were if you faced life as a group, like mountaineers whose very lives depended on an invisible rope linking them together…” The quality of the writing throughout the book is powerful and propulsive, never calling attention to itself, but through its careful choice of wording, providing a luminous look at a point in time…and in character. It takes an excellent translator to help make this happen and Len Rix was certainly up to the task. I never once felt I was reading a translation. This is a marvelous book and I envy all those who have yet to discover it. My highest recommendation.

In the original, Hungarian, the book was published in 1970 and became immediately popular. Gina Vitay is a spoiled 15-year-old girl who has grown up under the care of her father, a general, and her French governess Marcelle. But now there is a war, Hungary and France are on opposing sides, Marcelle is sent home and Gina is sent to a boarding school to the other side of Hungary. The Calvinist strictness of the school astonishes Gina, she rebels, and is scorned by her fellow students - but somehow she has to grow up in the midst of the war going on in the background, discovering that people are often not who she thought they were, both negatively and positively. I really liked it.

Kitabın boyutu büyük, yazıları iri ve okuması kolay.

This was written in Hungary in 1970, translated into English 2020. It could be shelved as Young Adult – the main character is a teenage girl – but it will please all ages. Gina is 14 years old, her mother is dead, she is devoted to her father, a general. She has a spoiled life in Budapest, without a care in the world. She is then sent to a strict boarding school. She is faced with rules and regulations imposed by the teachers, and must adapt to the informal codes of the pupils. Both change her and shape her into a young woman. So it’s a coming-of-age story. It is told from Gina’s point of view, and we are looking through her eyes. An older Gina with her own daughters chips in indulgently about her younger self. The narrative is about her changing relationships to those around her and those distant. The school sees her as no end of trouble but we perceive a welter of insecurities and confidences. A painful naivety underscores her first broken heart. It is set during the Second World War. In 1943 Hungary was on the side of Germany, an alliance that became more oppressive as the war became more brutal. More and more people wanted peace. In 1944 a much harsher dictatorship was imposed and German troops moved into the country. Gina finds herself at the centre of a crisis. A key theme that emerges is the contrast between the school and the wider society. What Gina feels at first as a prison becomes a sanctuary. These events are well-known in Hungary of course, but will be less familiar to English readers. There is a thrilling plot with a tense ending wrapped around the mystery – “who is Abigail?”. We approach this through the confused detective work of Gina, who is no Sherlock Holmes. The reader will realise long before the penny drops for Gina. It is enormously popular in Hungary. Would it appeal to teenagers elsewhere today? No mobile phones, no boys actually, and a secluded boarding school?

This story is a blend of historical fiction and mystery. A young girl is forced to grow up too soon in WW2 Hungary. Szabó does an incredible job writing this yearning and longing. Allegiance is tested, alliances are formed, and it’s written in such a compelling way that you’ll stay up late reading it!