Szabó Magda

[Stewart]

Magda Szab? (October 5, 1917 – November 19, 2007) was a Hungarian writer, arguably Hungary's foremost woman novelist. She also wrote dramas, essays, studies, memories and poetry.

Born in Debrecen, Szab? graduated at the University of Debrecen as a teacher of Latin and of Hungarian. She started working as a teacher in a Calvinist all-girl school in Debrecen and H?dmezőv?s?rhely. Between 1945 and 1949 she was working in the Ministry of Religion and Education. She married the writer and translator Tibor Szobotka in 1947.

She began her writing career as a poet, publishing her first book B?r?ny ("Lamb") in 1947, which was followed by Vissza az emberig ("Back to the Human") in 1949. In 1949 she was awarded the Baumgarten Prize, which was - for political reasons - withdrawn from her on the very day it was given. She was dismissed from the Ministry in the same year.

During the establishment of Stalinist rule from 1949 to 1956, the government did not allow her works to be published. Since her unemployed husband was also stigmatized by the communist regime, she was forced to teach in an elementary school within this period.

It was during the years of this involuntary silence that she felt the frames of poetry too tight to express her thoughts and turned to prose. Her first novel, Fresk? ("Fresco"), written in these years was published in 1958 and achieved overwhelming success among readers. Her most widely read novel Abig?l ("Abigail", 1970) is an adventure story about a schoolgirl boarding in eastern Hungary during the war.

She received several prizes in Hungary and her works have been published in 42 countries. In 2003 she was the winner of the French literary prize Prix Femina ?tranger for the best foreign novel.

[Stewart]

I don't really have a good bibliography for her. It seems a couple of her books were given an English translation back in the 1960s, with The Door following up a couple of years back.

According to Wikipedia, her novel Abig?l was also chosen as the sixth most popular novel at the Hungarian version of Big Read, with three other novels (F?r Elise, An Old-fashioned Story and The Door) also featured in the top hundred.

[Daniel del Real]

Hadn't heard about this Hungarian writer since a few days ago I was in a library in Spain and found a book by her titled The Ballad of Iza. Not knowing anything about the author or the novel I was captured by the description and a feeling it could be a novel/author to enjoy.
It doesn't happen that often to me, I'm more a very strict guy in my readings and I always have in mind what I want to read and a certain reference about the author. However the few times I've chosen a book just by instinct turned out in very good surprises. This is how I discovered Orhan Pamuk with My Name is Red for example.

I don't know if this novel is translated to English but here's the plot:

Mrs. Sz?cs is an old woman whose husband recently died. Although she feels alone she's used to live in her little town. Iza, her daughter, with the best intentions decides to take her mother with her to Budapest, but in the big city Mrs Sz?cs is not happy and she starts to get in a deep depression to the point she takes the decision of going back to her town. A simple story, intimate and delicate about the fragility of human relationships, lack of communication and the pain of loss.

I don't know if you actually read something by her Stewart but if you do please let me know if you liked it.

[Eric]

I've not read anything by Magda Szab? (the Hungarians reverse the order of forename and surname), but you can find out about "The Night of the Pig Killling" in the Babel Guide to Hungarian Literature:

The Babel Guide to Hungarian Literature (Keenoy, Menkes-Ivry, Varga)

The Wikipedia article in English is also quite thorough. And her obituary was published in the British daily, the Guardian on 28th November 2007:

Obituary: Magda Szab? | Books | The Guardian

[Daniel del Real]

Thank you very much Eric, a lot of valuable information before I start reading her book.

[Eric]

There are two schools of thought about authors and their books. Some people like to read the background first, others like to start the book on page one, and don't want to know anything about the author. I am of the former type. I get inquisitive about the author and his or her life, as well as the book itself. So George G?m?ri's summary was very good.

One pointless piece of coincidence: she had the "same" surname as Doris Lessing. "Szab?" means "tailor" in Hungarian; and Doris Lessing's maiden name was Taylor.