It’s (not quite) Monday. What are YOU reading?

Book DateAlways love discovering new book blogging sites through other sites I enjoy. That’s why I was pleased that Emma from Once Upon a Littlefield pointed me towards The Book Date.

I like this blog challenge – ‘It’s Monday! What are YOU reading?’ – for those of us who blog fully or partially about books as a prompt to let readers know what we’re reading.

I often post reviews once I’m finished with a book, but I like the idea of posting a book I’m reading on a particular day of the week, no matter where I am within the novel.

Since I have pretty full weekend plans, and ambitious plans to edit some of my own work (I’ve been procrastinating FAR too long), I believe I’ll still be reading the same book Monday that I am Friday, Hungarian author Magda Szabó’s 1987 novel The Door.

The Door, Szabo, coverI am actually amazed I only recently discovered this novel, just out in a new English translation. When I lived in Prague and Vienna, I tore through Czech and Austrian novels, and kept an eye open for Hungarian authors as well, I never came across Szabó. Better late than never…

This is a beautifully written, slightly claustrophobic novel of a young Hungarian writer – whose name we never learn – who employs Emerence, an elderly woman, to become her housekeeper. Everyone in the neighborhood has tremendous respect for the older woman, but no one seems to know much about her or her past, which would be odd for the Hungary of the time. And she never invites visitors past her front door.  At the job interview, we quickly learn it is not the author to select Emerence, but the older woman to decide if she wishes to enter into the author’s service – and life.

And enter into the author’s life she does, filling every sphere during their 20-year relationship, spanning the 1960s to the 1980s. Slowly, a relationship builds between these two very different women in a manner that is all-consuming. At this point, I am not quite certain what it is building up to, since the novel opened foreshadowing events that will happen later … and I haven’t yet connected all the dots. Still, Szabó’s writing carries the reader along in this unusual tale, and I am enjoying the journey.

So, readers: It’s (not quite) Monday! The Door is what I’ll be reading. What are YOU Reading? C’mon, we’re headed into those cooler autumn months, when we can curl up with a blanket, warm tea and  a good book. I’m in need of good tips! Do share yours…

4 Comments

  1. ProfeJMarie (Janet Rundquist) on October 14, 2016 at 1:36 pm

    I am reading LaRose, by Louise Erdrich. I really like her stuff and loved her last novel, The Round House. The premise for this one is that a man, while hunting, accidentally kills his friend’s 5-year old son. In cultural tradition, he and his wife offer them their own 5-year old to take their child’s place. I enjoy Erdrich’s writing style. I don’t love it, yet, but am not very far in and do at least like it. 🙂

    • kimberlysullivan on October 17, 2016 at 8:30 am

      Great tip, Janet! Erdrich has long been on my must-read list a long time. The story sounds intriguing – and disturbing – at the same time. Interesting point you make about ‘not loving it’ yet. Just had this conversation with my son, who was saying he “hated” a book he’d been assigned to read for school. I told him he’s too used to books that set him right in the middle of the action and wasn’t used to a slow build-up. In the end, he wound up loving the book, and admitted he shouldn’t be put off if a book doesn’t appeal to him in the first chapters. maybe harder for this generation that are treated as if they have the attention span of five seconds or less… : )

  2. wordfoolery on October 14, 2016 at 5:16 pm

    I’m nearly finished “The Fields of Death” – the last book in a quartet following Napoleon and Wellington from youth to Waterloo – enjoyable historic fiction by Simon Scarrow. I’ll probably still be reading it on Monday as I’m away with Scouts this weekend and won’t have much reading time as a result.

    • kimberlysullivan on October 17, 2016 at 8:33 am

      Ooh, you’re always full of great tips, Grace! Never even heard of this book, but it sounds right up my alley. Thanks! Haha, how are you surviving this Monday morning? Managed to get the Scouts to squeeze in some quiet reading time during the weekend trip? My guess is not… : ) Sounds like you deserve a bit of R&R today. Enjoy the read!

Leave a Reply Cancel Reply