Not sure what to think about this one. The first section covers Sophie Blind’s decision to divorce her husband despite his blithe insistence that this is not something that is going to happen. Not that they are sharing any sort of life together. Money is not the object, more of a possession sort of thing. (This was written in 1969 for some sort of context, so I suppose we are in a Mad Men sort of a world here.) Sorry Sophie, get your act together. But alas, she doesn’t and commits suicide. Doesn’t stop her from commenting on the proceedings though.
But as the book goes on, we are back in Sophie’s past. Her father was a psychoanalyst, a protégé of the Freudian school. Her mother was a figure of mystery, who showed up occasionally in her life and just as quickly vanished again. And all this is set in post-WWI Budapest. Her relationship with her father was more of a companion, a sounding board, and less that of a daughter.
As WWII approaches, her extended Jewish family considers themselves safe in Hungary. Warning after warning is ignored, as was so often the case. But Sophie and her parents make it out just in time, and so much of her family doesn’t. Wealth, position in society, long-standing family roots, none of that mattered in the face of hatred.
So a life in reverse, more or less. I think I could have used more of Budapest and less of New York. I’m sure Sophie totally agrees with me.