The Door

The Door by Magda Szabo, 262 pages.
This Hungarian tale from the 1980s tells the story of a cleaning woman and her employer.
Emerence is a woman out of myth. She serves as a cleaning woman for and Magda (the character, not the author) and her husband. She refers to Magda's husband simply as "the master." Emerence is a force to be reckoned with; she is unwavering, unforgiving, and unstoppable. She cannot understand why anyone would waste time reading, let alone writing books, as Magda does. But Emerence comes to love Magda, as she loves Viola, the stray dog she foists upon Magda's household, and as she loves her privacy, her endless collection of cats, and her secrets. Emerence stands for everything that has passed and faded; for an old Hungary out of fable, and for the endless stoicism needed to survive both the war and the Soviets. She cannot be explained or reasoned with. But she can be disappointed and betrayed by those whom she loves. This is a wonderful book.