Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
NYRB Classics (2016), 352 pages
Description
"When Ettie's husband dies, her daughter, Iza, insists that she give up the family house in the countryside and move to Budapest. Displaced from her community and her home, Ettie tries to find her place in this new life. Iza's Ballad is the story of a woman who loses her life's companion and a mother trying to get close to a daughter whom she has never truly known. It is about the meeting of the old-fashioned and the modern worlds and the beliefs we construct over a lifetime. Beautifully translated by the poet George Szirtes, this is a profoundly moving novel with the unforgettable power of Magda Szabo's award-winning The Door"--
User reviews
LibraryThing member bodachliath
This seems to be only the third of the late Magda Szabó's books to appear in English translation. It was published in Hungary in 1963, and like The Door, it is a story of generational differences, but this time the key relationship is between Ettie, an old country woman and her daughter Iza, a
When Ettie's husband Vince dies, Iza arranges for Ettie to move from her old-fashioned house in a rural town into her modern flat in the capital Pest. What follows is tragic, moving and beautifully written. Ettie is unable to adjust or find any purpose to her new life - having spent her whole life supporting a husband with physical work, she finds herself redundant in Iza's tightly controlled world, and seems to upset Iza with everything she tries to do. The central theme is that love alone does not prevent people, even close family, from hurting one another deeply and failing to comprehend one another's needs and aspirations. Another theme is the contrast between the old fashioned rural Hungary and the modern city, there is also quite a lot of history and there is a subplot involving Iza's ex-husband Antal, who was Vince's doctor and has bought and moved into the old couple's house.
This is a melancholy book, but a hauntingly memorable and deeply moving one, and if anything else Szabó wrote is as good as this and The Door, their translation into English is long overdue.
Show More
city doctor. When Ettie's husband Vince dies, Iza arranges for Ettie to move from her old-fashioned house in a rural town into her modern flat in the capital Pest. What follows is tragic, moving and beautifully written. Ettie is unable to adjust or find any purpose to her new life - having spent her whole life supporting a husband with physical work, she finds herself redundant in Iza's tightly controlled world, and seems to upset Iza with everything she tries to do. The central theme is that love alone does not prevent people, even close family, from hurting one another deeply and failing to comprehend one another's needs and aspirations. Another theme is the contrast between the old fashioned rural Hungary and the modern city, there is also quite a lot of history and there is a subplot involving Iza's ex-husband Antal, who was Vince's doctor and has bought and moved into the old couple's house.
This is a melancholy book, but a hauntingly memorable and deeply moving one, and if anything else Szabó wrote is as good as this and The Door, their translation into English is long overdue.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Beamis12
Read Szabo's The Door and was blown away, wanted to read more by this fantastic author but couldn't find any other translated works here in the states. Then I saw this one, comes out soon, and started reading and once again this author reached inside and captured me totally. She seems to have such
Ettie and Vince has been married for fifty years when he dies. They had lived in the rural area for many years, lived simply, not ever showing they had more than their neighbors, every item in their house had meaning, and suddenly it is gone. They only had one daughter, Iza who became a doctor and often she visited providing for her parents in their elderly years. Suddenly it is all gone, Iza decides to take her mother and live with her in her apartment in Budapest, from rural to city, nothing familiar, nothing the same.
A mother who never really understood her daughter and the past against the present, old versus new, and memories, meaningful things. How does one survive when everything one cherished is gone? Szabo put together a multiple faceted story, we learn about some of the characters from other characters, conversations and again memories. A simple, but powerful story. Another winner for me from this author.
Show More
an understanding of all the messy, inside things, memories and habits, misunderstandings and experiences that make us human. Ettie and Vince has been married for fifty years when he dies. They had lived in the rural area for many years, lived simply, not ever showing they had more than their neighbors, every item in their house had meaning, and suddenly it is gone. They only had one daughter, Iza who became a doctor and often she visited providing for her parents in their elderly years. Suddenly it is all gone, Iza decides to take her mother and live with her in her apartment in Budapest, from rural to city, nothing familiar, nothing the same.
A mother who never really understood her daughter and the past against the present, old versus new, and memories, meaningful things. How does one survive when everything one cherished is gone? Szabo put together a multiple faceted story, we learn about some of the characters from other characters, conversations and again memories. A simple, but powerful story. Another winner for me from this author.
Show Less
LibraryThing member starbox
"(Old people's) pasts are explanations and values, the key to the present", 20 Mar. 2016
This review is from: Iza's Ballad (Paperback)
When Etty's husband dies, her successful, utterly capable daughter Iza - a doctor in Budapest - sends her to recuperate in a hotel while she arranges for her to give
Iza does everything for her mother but in the new, luxurious flat, with a housekeeper to attend to all the tasks, Etty is at a loss as to how to spend her days.
This novel's focus moves from Etty to her ex-husband Antal, who has purchased Etty's old house, and lastly to Iza herself; as it progresses we understand more of the feelings and motivations of each.
Writing a novel of personalities where there are no 'goodies' or 'baddies', just ordinary people striving to rub along with one another - and bringing them so vividly to life and evoking our feelings for each of them - is the mark of a truly brilliant writer.
This review is from: Iza's Ballad (Paperback)
When Etty's husband dies, her successful, utterly capable daughter Iza - a doctor in Budapest - sends her to recuperate in a hotel while she arranges for her to give
Show More
up her country home and come and share her flat. Right at this point the reader foresees conflict ahead, as Etty sits in her hotel: "she made a drawing of the flat using her imagination and planned where she would put everything, finding room for all the furniture. it might be a little crowded but it would all be there ... she took great delight in the effort, drawing little semicircles for chairs ... There'd be plenty to do once they got to Pest. But it would be good work and it made her happy to think about it. Making a home."Iza does everything for her mother but in the new, luxurious flat, with a housekeeper to attend to all the tasks, Etty is at a loss as to how to spend her days.
This novel's focus moves from Etty to her ex-husband Antal, who has purchased Etty's old house, and lastly to Iza herself; as it progresses we understand more of the feelings and motivations of each.
Writing a novel of personalities where there are no 'goodies' or 'baddies', just ordinary people striving to rub along with one another - and bringing them so vividly to life and evoking our feelings for each of them - is the mark of a truly brilliant writer.
Show Less
LibraryThing member ozzer
Frequently, the death of a spouse in a long-term marriage does not end well for the survivor. The problem of what to do when the surviving partner is aged but otherwise enjoys a comfortable lifestyle is all too familiar. Sometimes the best solution is to leave well enough alone. Magda Szabo’s
Ettie Szócs’ husband, Vince, has died of cancer. With the best of intentions, her daughter, Iza, takes charge of her mother’s welfare following the funeral. While sequestering Ettie at a nearby spa, Iza sells the family home, disposes of most of her parents’ belongings and makes plans to move her mother to Budapest. Ettie does not even get the opportunity to bid farewell to her neighbor or the family dog. Iza benevolently believes this will be the best possible way for her mother to live out her remaining days. Even Ettie’s neighbor remarks, "What a delight it must be to move to Budapest, to leave sad memories behind and to enjoy a happy old age in new circumstances.”
This thorough uprooting, combined with mourning for her deceased husband, is profoundly disorienting for Ettie. In Budapest, she is isolated, has no friends and nothing to do. Iza is away at work for most of the day and goes out with friends most evenings. There is even Terez, an efficient housekeeper who prefers to go about her work without assistance from Ettie. Ettie spends her days riding trams around the city and only realizes how much she has lost when she returns to her village to place a stone at Vince’s grave.
Szabo explores this unfortunate situation with skill, subtlety and empathy. Perspectives shift seamlessly evoking the disorientation that Ettie undoubtedly feels while also revealing the backstories of both women. Ettie and Vince had lived quietly in a rural Hungarian village. She distrusted modern conveniences making toast over an open flame and preferring times when power outages necessitated lighting candles.
Iza overlooks the pleasure and solace her mother derived from her environment and the memories it provided. She was close to Vince, who was a judge blacklisted by the right-wing Hungarian regime for a politically sensitive legal decision. She had one brother who died young. Ettie adored her Iza when she was young but does not know what to make of her now.
Iza views herself as a dutiful daughter who is generous to her parents but she has a cold and controlling personality. She has abandoned her past for a life in the modern city. After finishing medical school, she married Antal, a classmate. They lived with her parents while both established their medical careers. The marriage eventually failed for reasons that become more obvious as the novel proceeds. Following the divorce, Iza moved to Budapest, but Antal remained in his rural community where he had deep connections. He now has a fiancée, Lidia, who is a nurse and cared for Vince in his last days. He also purchases Ettie’s house because of his sentimental attachment to the Szócs. Meanwhile Iza’s career and personal life take a different direction. She is a brilliant medical specialist with many friends but few close attachments. Her significant other is a worldly writer, but uses people as raw material for his books.
Szabo’s narrative has a comfortable pace, sifting seamlessly between times and perspectives slowly accumulating facts that begin to define her characters and their relations to one another. Through her deceptively simple tale, she subtly tackles a large array of important human themes—mother-daughter relationships, traditional versus modern values, rural and city existences, balance between home and work, meditations on grief and loss of loved ones, and the importance of memories. This is a remarkable book that speaks eloquently to the difficulties we all experience connecting to one another.
Show More
stunning novel (IZA’S BALLAD) explores how over-caring can sometimes have tragic consequences.Ettie Szócs’ husband, Vince, has died of cancer. With the best of intentions, her daughter, Iza, takes charge of her mother’s welfare following the funeral. While sequestering Ettie at a nearby spa, Iza sells the family home, disposes of most of her parents’ belongings and makes plans to move her mother to Budapest. Ettie does not even get the opportunity to bid farewell to her neighbor or the family dog. Iza benevolently believes this will be the best possible way for her mother to live out her remaining days. Even Ettie’s neighbor remarks, "What a delight it must be to move to Budapest, to leave sad memories behind and to enjoy a happy old age in new circumstances.”
This thorough uprooting, combined with mourning for her deceased husband, is profoundly disorienting for Ettie. In Budapest, she is isolated, has no friends and nothing to do. Iza is away at work for most of the day and goes out with friends most evenings. There is even Terez, an efficient housekeeper who prefers to go about her work without assistance from Ettie. Ettie spends her days riding trams around the city and only realizes how much she has lost when she returns to her village to place a stone at Vince’s grave.
Szabo explores this unfortunate situation with skill, subtlety and empathy. Perspectives shift seamlessly evoking the disorientation that Ettie undoubtedly feels while also revealing the backstories of both women. Ettie and Vince had lived quietly in a rural Hungarian village. She distrusted modern conveniences making toast over an open flame and preferring times when power outages necessitated lighting candles.
Iza overlooks the pleasure and solace her mother derived from her environment and the memories it provided. She was close to Vince, who was a judge blacklisted by the right-wing Hungarian regime for a politically sensitive legal decision. She had one brother who died young. Ettie adored her Iza when she was young but does not know what to make of her now.
Iza views herself as a dutiful daughter who is generous to her parents but she has a cold and controlling personality. She has abandoned her past for a life in the modern city. After finishing medical school, she married Antal, a classmate. They lived with her parents while both established their medical careers. The marriage eventually failed for reasons that become more obvious as the novel proceeds. Following the divorce, Iza moved to Budapest, but Antal remained in his rural community where he had deep connections. He now has a fiancée, Lidia, who is a nurse and cared for Vince in his last days. He also purchases Ettie’s house because of his sentimental attachment to the Szócs. Meanwhile Iza’s career and personal life take a different direction. She is a brilliant medical specialist with many friends but few close attachments. Her significant other is a worldly writer, but uses people as raw material for his books.
Szabo’s narrative has a comfortable pace, sifting seamlessly between times and perspectives slowly accumulating facts that begin to define her characters and their relations to one another. Through her deceptively simple tale, she subtly tackles a large array of important human themes—mother-daughter relationships, traditional versus modern values, rural and city existences, balance between home and work, meditations on grief and loss of loved ones, and the importance of memories. This is a remarkable book that speaks eloquently to the difficulties we all experience connecting to one another.
Show Less
LibraryThing member arubabookwoman
Ettie and Vince, a long-married couple live in a small town. Their daughter Iza is a doctor in Budapest. When Vince dies, Iza insists that Ettie move to Budapest and live with her. Ettie is exited to do so--she assumes she will be of use to Iza, able to cook and clean and make her life easier. Her
Both daughter and mother had good intentions, but they are from two different worlds. Iza is a modern career woman, and Ettie is basically an uneducated peasant, loving each other, but having difficulty coming to terms. This was a rich novel of the misunderstandings that can exist between generations, despite the deep love connecting them.
As an older person with independent adult children, I think I connected more with Ettie who desparately wanted happiness for her daughter, but didn't know how to make that happen. But I also related to Iza, who loved her mother, felt responsible for her, but basically wanted her to fade into the background.
A very special novel.
4 stars
Show More
life will have purpose. She arrives in Budapest to find all new furnishings--none of her things from her long time home have made it to Budapest. And Iza already has a housekeeper/cook who threatens to quit if Ettie keeps getting in her way by trying to help. Soon Ettie finds herself in a strange place, knowing no one and with nothing to do. She finds herself sinking into depression. Iza, too, finds that having her mother there all the time puts constraints on her life as well.Both daughter and mother had good intentions, but they are from two different worlds. Iza is a modern career woman, and Ettie is basically an uneducated peasant, loving each other, but having difficulty coming to terms. This was a rich novel of the misunderstandings that can exist between generations, despite the deep love connecting them.
As an older person with independent adult children, I think I connected more with Ettie who desparately wanted happiness for her daughter, but didn't know how to make that happen. But I also related to Iza, who loved her mother, felt responsible for her, but basically wanted her to fade into the background.
A very special novel.
4 stars
Show Less
LibraryThing member Dreesie
This novel is a fascinating look at relationships, family, expectations, generational differences, aging, and the huge changes in Hungary after WW2. First published in 1963.
Iza's parents came of age before WW2. They have lived in their family home in a small town for a long time. They are very
Iza's parents came of age before WW2. They have lived in their family home in a small town for a long time. They are very
Show More
frugal--they needed to be--and the house is a bit rundown and very out of date. Iza appreciates what they did for her, she is now a doctor. Divorced, but successful. She moves to Budapest and after her father's death, she and her mother sell the house and move her mother to Budapest. Ettie does not get what she expects--she loses her community and accidentally makes friends with a prostitute. Iza has a housekeeper, so Ettie does not need to cook, or clean, or do much of anything. But her stuff also did not come to the city, it being old and musty and unneeded in Iza's existing modern apartment. Show Less
Awards
Prix Initiales (2005)
The New York Times Notable Books of the Year (Fiction & Poetry — 2016)
Language
Original language
Hungarian
Original publication date
1963
Physical description
352 p.
ISBN
1681370344 / 9781681370347