First Impression Friday will be a meme where you talk about a book that you JUST STARTED! Maybe you’re only a chapter or two in, maybe a little farther. Based on this sampling of your current read, give a few impressions and predict what you’ll think by the end.

Synopsis:

Abigail, the story of a headstrong teenager growing up during World War II, is the most beloved of Magda Szabó’s books in her native Hungary. Gina is the only child of a general, a widower who has long been happy to spoil his bright and willful daughter. Gina is devastated when the general tells her that he will be sending her to boarding school in the country. She is even more aghast at the grim religious institution to which she soon finds herself consigned. She fights with her fellow students, rebels against her teachers, is completely ostracized, and finally runs away. Caught and brought back, Gina can only entrust her fate to the legendary Abigail, as the classical statue of a woman with an urn that stands on the school’s grounds has come to be called. If you’re in trouble, it’s said, leave a message with Abigail and help will be on the way. And for Gina, who is in much deeper trouble than she could possibly suspect, a life-changing adventure is only beginning.

There is something of Jane Austen in this story of deceptiveness of appearances; fans of J.K. Rowling are sure to enjoy Szabó’s picture of irreverent students, eccentric teachers, and boarding-school life. Above all, however, Abigail is a thrilling tale of suspense.

Happy Friday, everyone! We are done with another work week. As the week draws to a close, I hope you are able to make it through. I hope you are ending it on a high note. I hope you were able to tick off those items on your to-do list. It is now time to slow down. Ditch those drab corporate clothes, don some comfortable articles of clothing, and let your hair down. It is time to dive into the weekend. It is time to have some fun, or more importantly, it is time to take a break after yet another tedious week at the office. I hope you get to spend the weekend doing things you are passionate for. I hope you get to spend it with the people you love. I hope you complete your errands. I hope everyone gets to take the time to rest and prepare themselves for yet another work week looming. More importantly, I hope everyone is doing well, in body, mind, and spirit.

Wow. Time is zooming past us. Time simply takes its natural course, flowing with no regard for anyone. Just like that, we have already crossed the midpoint of the year – July 2 – and that we are already in the seventh month of the year. How has your June been? Or more broadly, how has your year been? I hope the first half of 2025 treated everyone kindly. I hope that it brought you favors and guided you closer to your goals and aspirations. With six more months remaining, I hope the rest of the year will shower everyone with good tidings, kindness, and overall positive energy. If your year has been difficult, I hope a reversal of fortune in the coming months will bless you. The coming months beckon with hope. But if you’re still figuring things out, take your time. I hope you achieve your goals this year. May positive energy, blessings, and good news flow into your life in the months ahead.

Anyway, back to the purpose of this weekly reading update. First Impression Friday has certainly become a mainstay in my book blogging although I have been late in my updates lately. I am trying to realign my priorities so that I could publish timely updates. Regardless, I have already shifted toward a new literary adventure. After spending the first half of the year reading works of Asian writers, I have now commenced a journey across the extensive and lush tapestry of European literature. Kicking off this literary journey is Magda Szabó’s Abigail. It was in 2019 when I first encountered the Hungarian writer – later that year I would encounter her fellow Hungarian writers László Krasznahorkai and Péter Nádas – with her novel The Door. It was through online booksellers that I came across it. The Door provided a unique reading experience – at least it was back then – that I looked forward to reading more of Szabó’s works.

The opportunity to explore her oeuvre came nearly six years later. During my recent travel to Singapore, I came across a copy of Abigail. This piqued my interest but I did not acquire a copy of the book because I had other books prioritized. However, the second time I encountered the book here in the Philippines, I did not hesitate acquiring the book. Abigail is the second novel by Szabó I read. Originally published in 1970, Abigail is set in Szabó’s native Hungary and transports the readers to the years of the Second World War. The Second World War also reverberate in The Door. However, Abigail stands out on its own. At the heart of the novel is Georgina Vitay who was more affectionately referred to as Gina. She was born and raised in Budapest where her father serves as a general. Her mother died when she was still young.

The crux of the story was when Gina was sent away by her father to the Matula Institute, an old girl’s boarding school in the fictional Protestant town of Árkod in easternmost Hungary. The Matula Institute is a traditional Calvinist school and adheres to stringent set of rules which left the liberated Gina disoriented. The atmosphere at the school is a stark dichotomy to her life at home. Life in Árkod is drab compared to Budapest where she  attended operas, visited art museums, and mingled with a genteel crowd in her aunt’s salons. It did not help that Gina earned the ire of her fellow students. On her second day at school, she flew into rage and divulged one of the secrets of her classmates to the headmaster. This resulted in her being resented by her classmates. In a world far from the comforts of home, Gina found herself alone. Desperate for home, she tried to escape from the school, only for it to be thwarted by one of her teachers.

With her escape plan foiled and eventually reported to her father, we then learn why she was moved to Árkod. Her father is the leader of a resistance movement within the military. He had to move his daughter far from the capital to keep her from being found by his enemies. Gina was then left with no recourse; she had to accept what fate has handed to her, slowly embracing life at the school, including embracing its traditions. She also learned about the legends that proliferate its every corner. But who or what is the titular Abigail? Apparently, it is the name given to the statue of a woman located in the school grounds. Legends have it that the statue helps resolve the girls concern if they write to Abigail. Gina was initially apprehensive about the legends until she became the recipient of one of the letters. This piques Gina’s curiosity, prompting her to try and find out who Abigail really is.

Will Gina find out who Abigail really is? Is she really a preternatural being? Why does she know about the girl’s concerns and how does she always find the perfect solutions to their concerns? There is a lot to unpack. I am nearly done with the book and I am already at the edge of my seat. How about you, fellow reader? What book or books have you read over the weekend? I hope you get to enjoy whatever you are reading right now. Happy weekend!