Iza's Ballad by George Szirtes - ISBN: 9780099532385
Paperback
A mother’s loss, a daughter’s control, a life unravelling.

$25.92

  • Paperback

    336 pages

  • Release Date

    15 August 2015

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Summary

A profoundly moving novel with the unforgettable power of Szabó’s award-winning The Door.

When Ettie’s husband dies, her daughter Iza insists that her mother 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, but can’t seem to get it right. She irritates the maid, hangs food outside the window because she mistrusts the fridge, and, in her naivety and loneliness, invites a…

Book Details

ISBN-13:9780099532385
ISBN-10:0099532387
Author:George Szirtes, Magda Szabó
Publisher:Vintage Publishing
Imprint:Vintage
Format:Paperback
Number of Pages:336
Release Date:15 August 2015
Weight:238g
Dimensions:197mm x 129mm x 22mm
What They're Saying

Critics Review

[A] heartbreakingly beautiful novel… George Szirtes conveys both the sophistication and simplicity of Szabó’s narrative in a superb translation… Humble, wistful Ettie is a wonderful creation… Just as The Door won an immediate English-language following, Iza’s Ballad is bound to become one of the most loved books of the year… This publication of Iza’s Ballad, subtle and profound, is a cause for celebration * Irish Times *
The writing has a lovely clarity and a relevance that is timeless – Kate Saunders * The Times *
Szabo nails with incisive clarity the painful dynamics between the two [central] characters… A perceptive study of family relationships, bereavement and old age, it is harrowingly beautiful – Juanita Coulson * Lady *
A ruthless exploration of the damage we inflict on one another in the name of love * Independent *
Szabo…is a rare voice, and this novel about the death of tradition and hope is a marvel of empathy – Eileen Battersby * Irish Times Books of the Year *

About The Author

George Szirtes

Magda Szab was born in 1917 in Debrecen, Hungary. She began her literary career as a poet. In the 1950s she disappeared from the publishing scene for political reasons and made her living by teaching and translating from French and English. She began writing novels, and in 1978 was awarded the Kossuth Prize, the most prestigious literary award in Hungary. Magda Szab died in 2007.

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