Magda Szabo's Abigail
Abigail is apparently Szabo's most popular novel in her native Hungary, but it took fifty years for an English translation to appear. Well, I'm glad it did! It's centered on a young Hungarian girl, the daughter of a widowed General, who is sent to a very strict boarding school in the provinces as WWII gets underway. The girls there do their best to make things livable—helped along by the statue in the garden, the titular Abigail, who reads their letters and comes to their aid. But who is behind Abigail, and what will happen as political tensions rise? That is not really a mystery to the reader; this is much more of a coming of age tale, and it’s a powerful and moving one. I was completely engrossed, and can’t wait to read more by Szabo. A.
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