Abigail (New York Review Books Classics)

It's 1943, and Georgina "Gina" Vitay's is the only child of a prominent general. She attends school in Budapest and hangs out with her socialite aunt and her circle. But then her father sends her away to a strict, religious boarding school in the provinces without any explanation. She hates her uncouth and immature classmates as well as the school's strict regiment. Eventually, Gina learns the real reason she has been sent away to boarding school. After that, she makes an effort to fit in, and soon she is one of the girls.

But the war is drawing near to Hungary, and Gina gets involved in wartime intrigue with potentially deadly consequences for her, her family, and her friends. And the only people she can unconditionally trust are her father, who is largely incommunicado, and an anonymous benefactor inside the boarding school.

There are few books that I find hard to put down, but this was one of them. I kept wanting to find out what would happen next. There certainly were plot elements that were predictable a few that were hokey. But I definitely recommend this novel.

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I want to add that the blub on the back of the book, which is an except from the Publishers Weekly review, is an insult to _Abigail_. The reviewer likens the book to Harry Potter. That's absurd. This is book is not fantasy. There are no wizards or magic. The girls do leave notes of supplication at the statue of a holy woman, but very early on, it is made clear that a real person monitors the statue and acts as the girls' benevolent patron. If you're looking for magic, miracles, or wonder, this is the wrong book.

This is a YA /Adult fiction, the formative book of almost everyone in Hungary, written by the author of The Door, translated by Len Rix who is visibly in love with the text. It is not something any North American reader ever saw but whoever read it so far, loved it.
A coming-of-age story in a girls' boarding school as the ripples of WW2 turn more and more lives upside down - but there are always people who see far beyond their own personal interests and worries, and become heroes in their own quiet way; in a school, in a family, in a church, in a town, or maybe, unexpectedly, in the Resistance. We see it all through the eyes of a privileged 15-yr-old who is not very much affected, or so she thinks, until she needs to move to said boarding school.
One of the favourite books of my late childhood. Read it, all ye people.

This is a wonderful novel. Read about it in The NY Times and it is such a thrilling tale. It is unfortunate that some bookstores have no copies or just one or two. It’s a classic.

Magda Szabo's works are gloriously written. With "Abigail", we add to our opportunity of reading master works of previously less-known, recently-translated novelists. "Abigail" is a treasure.

DON’T READ THE TRANSLATOR’S INTRODUCTION UNTIL YOU’VE FINISHED! IT’S FULL OF SPOILERS!

“Abigail”, by Magda Szabo, has been recently translated and released in paperback by the New York Review Books ”Classics” series. It was first published in 1970. I heard about it through a good friend with whom I share many literary “favorites”. Her rave review of “Abigail” was all I needed to order this novel and move it to the top of my “To Be Read” stack!

Set in Hungary in 1943-44, just prior to the German occupation, fourteen year old Gina Vitay is taken from her privileged and carefree life in Budapest, by her loving father “The General”, to a strict and religious all girls boarding school. Why has her heretofore doting father sent her to a place that is both a fortress and a prison? How will such a feisty and smart young woman cope with all the rules and regulations of her new existence? And who or what is this mysterious statue named “Abigail” that the other girls cherish?

The first part of the novel; Gina’s interactions with her new school, schoolmates and teachers, is fascinating. But Gina is a child, she and the others are sheltered, completely cut off from news of the war, and she doesn’t understand what we, the readers, begin to realize. The middle part of the novel has the reader gripped with tension by what we suspect that Gina doesn’t. And the final part – well, you will need to set aside time to read the final thrilling chapters because you will not be able to put it down!

Where do I even begin? Perhaps here: while reading Abigail, I barely came up for breath. It is that rare book that totally blots out the real world and substitutes another world that is so genuine and raw and mesmerizing that the twinning of reader and plot soon become complete. I would count it among the five best contemporary books I have ever read – and I have read a lot of books!

First, the title: I assumed Abigail was the name of the book’s protagonist. Not so. Gina Vitay, a headstrong young teen who is the spoiled only child of a reticent and honorable General, is the core of the story. As the tides of battle shift against Hungary and the Axis powers in the mid-1940s, Gina is summarily informed that she will be exiled to a grim religious boarding school fortress in the middle of nowhere—and no amount of pleading will make a difference.

As Gina adjusts to the authoritarian school, part of the intrigue is witnessing the school and the outside events from the perspective of a 14-year-old. The majority of readers will immediately understand the reasons behind the General’s decision (Gina is sure it is because her father wants to remarry and rid himself of her), and they will also recognize what drives the adults who are in charge of her care and quickly guess who can be most trusted.

For Gina, the only one to trust is Abigail, a statue in the outside garden who, for decades, has been the recipient of many heartbroken schoolgirl’s laments and cries for guidance. Abigail actually fixes things for girls in trouble with real, handwritten answers. Obviously, the status is not a supernatural force but what cloistered person has adopted the persona of Abigail? Is it someone who treats Gina and the others with obsequious politeness or someone stern and overbearing? It is a mystery that I solved early on but whether a reader does or not matters little.

What really matters is the journey to self-knowledge and to what values are most essential. Gina will inevitably reach a crucial juncture where her childhood and illusions will be shattered forever she will don the heavy cloak of premature adulthood and that scene will remain among the most memorable I have read. And she will recognize some universal truths: “…how much more special something was if you had had to struggle to achieve it, and how much stronger you were if you faced life as a group, like mountaineers whose very lives depended on an invisible rope linking them together…”

The quality of the writing throughout the book is powerful and propulsive, never calling attention to itself, but through its careful choice of wording, providing a luminous look at a point in time…and in character. It takes an excellent translator to help make this happen and Len Rix was certainly up to the task. I never once felt I was reading a translation. This is a marvelous book and I envy all those who have yet to discover it. My highest recommendation.

I loved this book growing up, and also loved the movie (the move is in Hungarian). I bought this book for my daughters, so I can pass on the love of this story. Abigail has such a captivating story, I think it is perfect for early teens.

Excellent novel. So many WWII novels out there but this one is a cut above the rest. Was recommended by the Wall Street Journal.

I am.sure the book is good, but buyer beware, the font size is very small.

I found the protagonist an interesting and sometimes challenging person to like, but the overall story is really fascinating, and her story is well worth reading. I enjoyed this very different view of Hungary during WWII. Of necessity, girls at a boarding school have a very different perspective on the world, especially since they were largely protected from knowledge of the war. Yet the reality of the war added valuable tension as it pokes up every so often. The author makes some interesting choices with respect to POV that I don't always like, particularly when we get occasional glimpses into the future, but overall it's a wonderful book and I recommend it.