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bellaa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
5 stars
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Death
comfsp's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
5.0
edit: i had to rate it a 5 star to put it among my favourites but it's not a 5 star honestly. but it's also so good i can't stop thinking about it
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Grief, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt
mamacroonie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty
luananki's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Death, Suicide, Grief, Abandonment, and Classism
Minor: Child death, Misogyny, and Excrement
jayisreading's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Death
Minor: Suicide
sarahjsnider's review against another edition
3.5
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death
mirandajanisse's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Minor: Animal cruelty and Suicide
missbear's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The thing that stood out to me most about The Door is that it's not magical realism (like Katalin Street is), everything in the book is theoretically realistic, and yet it has this feeling the whole time that something vaguely supernatural might be around the corner at any moment. This energy keeps the story incredibly compelling, which is especially impressive considering that there's very little plot and not much of a narrative arc. Even when events happen or time passes chronologically, you get the sense that the only point of including these kinds of details in the story is for the sake of developing the character of Emerence or the relationship between her and the narrator. And it works, because Emerence is such a strange and intriguing person, and the housekeeper/mistress relationship that the story is centered around is so unexpected. And, of course, because Szabó is such a talented writer. I'm ready to read anything she's written, no matter what the content is.
Moderate: Animal cruelty
serendipitysbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I really enjoyed my listening experience with The Door, despite not liking any of the main characters and feeling that some of nuanaces and deeper meanings were passing me by. Where’s a literature professor when you need one? The confessional nature of the book made it well suited for audio. It was like having someone whisper their secret in your ear.
This book examines an unlikely and unconventional friendship between a writer and her housekeeper, Emerence. The two are pretty much polar opposites - one makes her living by writing, the other is illiterate; one is an atheist; the other a regular church goer. Emerence in particular is an enigma. Despite being an employee she very much sets the terms of the relationship. She expects people to bow to her will, and to know what that is without her having to state it. She’s mercurial and intensely private, not letting even her closest friends into her house. Yet she works hard, helps most anybody and seems to have plenty of friends. I recognise that many hard tragic things have happened to her and yet I was never able to muster much, if any sympathy or positive feelings for her. Her abuse of animals was beyond the pale and nearly had me DNFing on more than one occasion. The classist, entitled, self-absorbed nature of the narrator also rankled. I’m not sure if they were just genuinely unlikeable or if some cultural differences prevented me from forming a more sympathetic opinion of them. Thankfully I was still able to appreciate the writing, and since I read this in translation credit must also go the the translator for my reading experience. The book left me with plenty to think about - was Emerence at least a partial personification of twentieth century Hungary?, how much of the narrator was modelled on the author?, to what extent can a difficult past excuse present behaviour? and more. If you enjoy literary fiction, complicated women and toxic friendships this could be a good pick for you. For me it fell into the appreciated rather than enjoyed category.
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Toxic friendship
yolanda_h's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Suicide, Medical content, and Grief