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thegracexu's review against another edition
3.75
Very strong character portraiture of Emerence and the “unnamed” narrator though I feel like the ending dragged a bit
sminismoni's review against another edition
DNF at 50%. This review will be long, because it has been a long time since I hated a book so much and felt so frustrated as a reader. And no, it wasn’t because of the writing style, which was of a high grade.
I was already a little sceptical when the first chapter revealed that this book was going to trot out the trope of the elderly, solitary eccentric with a mysterious past. This has been done a lot recently (Elegance of the Hedgehog, A Man called Ove, A Gentleman in Moscow), although I concede that this book was first published in 1987 and so might be called a forerunner of this trend. As with those other books, I continued reading as I thought that, despite the curmudgeonly exterior of the housekeeper Emerence, we would perhaps slowly empathise with the diamond in the rough, discovering a vulnerability and a heart of gold underneath. Unfortunately, as the book dragged on and on, there was little sign that this would be the case. In the end I simply could not stand the character of Emerence and had to give up. She is a woman who displays unremitting negativism, a lack of empathy and juvenile narcissism (including tantrums when others protest at the unsolicited gifts or acts of service that she engages in as oblique and inappropriate shows of affection).
Throughout, we are drip-fed aspects of Emerence’s past, which tells of a hard life marked by violence and tragedy in the first half of the Hungarian 20th century. And although this goes some way to explaining Emerence’s compartmentalisation, her affect isolation and tendency to alienate those around her, I felt that it didn’t really justify her attitude or behaviour. The particularly jarring episodes for me were when she mercilessly beat the poor dog (on more than one occasion), and later, during an argument with a neighbour, flippantly told her, “Go kill yourself”. Given that Emerence loves the dog immensely, and values her neighbours too, the author is sending a dangerous message which suggests that abuse can be a form of affection and love.
Added to this was the failed promise of the book that it was to be about a friendship between two women. I have read Elena Ferrante’s Neopolitan quartet and loved the hostile-dependent dynamic between those women. Therefore, I didn’t need the relationship between the narrator and her housekeeper to be all warm and fuzzy. The problem was rather, that the character of the narrator was flat and under-developed, and she exists merely as a vehicle for the character study of Emerence. She orbits the stronger, more overt character and unfortunately disappears in the mind of the reader as a real person. Then put in the fact that there is no plot at all, just vignette after vignette, and I just couldn’t go on.
I was already a little sceptical when the first chapter revealed that this book was going to trot out the trope of the elderly, solitary eccentric with a mysterious past. This has been done a lot recently (Elegance of the Hedgehog, A Man called Ove, A Gentleman in Moscow), although I concede that this book was first published in 1987 and so might be called a forerunner of this trend. As with those other books, I continued reading as I thought that, despite the curmudgeonly exterior of the housekeeper Emerence, we would perhaps slowly empathise with the diamond in the rough, discovering a vulnerability and a heart of gold underneath. Unfortunately, as the book dragged on and on, there was little sign that this would be the case. In the end I simply could not stand the character of Emerence and had to give up. She is a woman who displays unremitting negativism, a lack of empathy and juvenile narcissism (including tantrums when others protest at the unsolicited gifts or acts of service that she engages in as oblique and inappropriate shows of affection).
Throughout, we are drip-fed aspects of Emerence’s past, which tells of a hard life marked by violence and tragedy in the first half of the Hungarian 20th century. And although this goes some way to explaining Emerence’s compartmentalisation, her affect isolation and tendency to alienate those around her, I felt that it didn’t really justify her attitude or behaviour. The particularly jarring episodes for me were when she mercilessly beat the poor dog (on more than one occasion), and later, during an argument with a neighbour, flippantly told her, “Go kill yourself”. Given that Emerence loves the dog immensely, and values her neighbours too, the author is sending a dangerous message which suggests that abuse can be a form of affection and love.
Added to this was the failed promise of the book that it was to be about a friendship between two women. I have read Elena Ferrante’s Neopolitan quartet and loved the hostile-dependent dynamic between those women. Therefore, I didn’t need the relationship between the narrator and her housekeeper to be all warm and fuzzy. The problem was rather, that the character of the narrator was flat and under-developed, and she exists merely as a vehicle for the character study of Emerence. She orbits the stronger, more overt character and unfortunately disappears in the mind of the reader as a real person. Then put in the fact that there is no plot at all, just vignette after vignette, and I just couldn’t go on.
reyna_reads's review against another edition
5.0
excellent in every way. the relationships feel so real which makes this all the more heartbreaking
acmarinho3's review against another edition
5.0
Um livro de silêncio. Autobiográfico, como Magda revelou, conta-nos a sua relação com a sua empregada Emerence: uma mulher de personalidade forte, gostos peculiares e com uma maneira bruta de mostrar de quem gosta. A narrativa da história não avança muito, mas, na verdade, não precisa. A complexidade da relação e a maneira como Magda a (d)escreve é absolutamente divinal. Se, no início, torcemos o nariz a Emerence, chegamos ao fim com o coração apertado e, tal como nós, leitores, toda a gente da cidade húngara onde vivia. Acredito que a escrita deste livro foi como uma redenção e, ao mesmo tempo, como uma homenagem a Emerence. Violento e triste, mas incrivelmente bem escrito.
ktyler828's review against another edition
challenging
dark
slow-paced
3.5
The start is SO slow but dang it gets wild at the end. Super complex and interesting relationship but also a lil frustrating and annoying - lots to think about here tho.
heidilreads's review against another edition
4.0
This narrator got me hooked in the first 3 minutes.
owlstickers's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
sotazop's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
sebwhalley's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
patriciamadariaga's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty
Moderate: Suicide