The Door by Magda SzabóMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
"You think life goes on for ever, and that it would be worth having if it did. You think there’ll always be someone to cook and clean for you, a plate full of food, paper to scribble on, the master to love you; and everyone will live for eternity, like a fairy tale..."
Would you pick up this book if you knew nothing about it? As far as covers and titles go, there are so many more intriguing ones. Even reading the blurb, one wouldn't find it "sexy." Old age never is.
But when your book pals tell you that it's a must-read, then you follow peer pressure and get a copy like the good friend that you are.
And allow Magda Szabó to wreck your heart in yet another unforgettable novel.
I had previously read ABIGAIL and thought it wonderful, and was a bit disappointed to discover upon beginning THE DOOR that it was set in contemporary times. I thought it would be less interesting than the first book which had been set in World War II.
How wrong I was.
It starts with an admission of guilt: "I killed Emerence. The fact that I was trying to save her rather than destroy her changes nothing."
A searing critique of superficial Christianity and social attitudes towards the aged, it forces us to confront our deepest fears not so much about death, but more importantly, the illnesses that come before dying.
"She was capable of sacrifice. Things I had to attend to consciously she did instinctively. It made no difference that she wasn’t aware of it — her goodness was innate, mine was the result of upbringing. It was only later that I developed my own clear moral standards... What I consider religion is a sort of Buddhism, a mere respect for tradition, and that even my morality is just discipline, the result of training at home, in school and in my family, or self-imposed...This woman wasn’t one to practise Christianity in church between nine and ten on Sunday mornings, but she had lived by it all her life, in her own neighbourhood, with a pure love of humanity such as you find in the Bible."
This book should come with a trigger warning, though! It's not advisable for those fresh from caring for a beloved elder at their bedside. * heaves a steadying sigh *
We shirk from thinking the unthinkable because it's never pleasant. In a similar way, I have yet to encounter a Szabó book that I could call "pleasant," but they're so much more.
They're essential.
Few books make us question our attitudes towards life and death. This is such a one.
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