My second book of 2026 was another winner. 

Admittedly, there are few novels I’ve read where I truly find the protagonist or narrator completely likable. More typically, I find one or both totally unlikable. Such is the case here—the narrator is frustratingly self-centered, handicapped in her ability to empathize with others by her class and educational background, while the protagonist Emerence is cantankerous, incapable of grasping why her worldview is unworkable in the modern world and unwilling to let her guard down with anyone, at least not for long. 

And yet, I absolutely loved this novel. After the first 20%, which was rather slow, I found it compulsively readable, as I tried to predict what the ultimate betrayal would be. And when the betrayal occurs it is vicious indeed. I reacted physically and audibly. I was genuinely outraged. 

Although the narrator and Emerence wouldn’t be my choice for companions at lunch or dinner, I thought Emerence was an extraordinary personality, and I ultimately found her deeply sympathetic. I also found the dynamic between the two characters compelling. Szabó draws both characters and their flaws convincingly, and she explores the novels themes (e.g., tradition vs. modernity, intellectual vs. physical, boundaries both physical and emotional, shame, and pride—in one’s work and in one’s management of relationships) with tremendous grace and depth. Szabó’s prose is stately and precise. Her style isn’t florid, but it’s appropriate for a first-person narrative, especially one about such a tumultuous relationship between two women who are at once employer and employee, mother and daughter, friend and enemy.

The Door by Magda Szabó