Katalin Street

Hungarian novelist, dramatist, and poet Magda Szabó’s historical novel Katalin Street (1969) follows three Hungarian families struggling to survive during World War II. It won the 2007 Prix Cévennes for Best European Novel and the 2018 PEN Translation Prize following its translation into English. Reviewers praise the book for its poetic prose and emotional insights. Critics regard Szabó as one of the most significant Hungarian writers of the 20th century. She is notorious for winning and losing a prestigious poetry award on the same day in 1949 after the state declared her a political enemy.

The book begins in 1930s Budapest. The central characters are sisters Irén and Blanka Elekes. The girls couldn’t be more different. Irén, smart and ambitious, wants to be a teacher one day. Blanka, on the other hand, who hates studying, always feels inferior to Irén. While Irén makes friends easily, Blanka is withdrawn and introverted. They don’t see eye to eye for much of their childhood.

The Elekeses live beside “The Major” and his son, Bálint, who, quiet and precocious, mainly keeps to himself. He lost his mother years ago, and his father, a military officer, doesn’t show him much affection. Both Irén and Blanka fancy Bálint because he is so gentle and mannerly; they don’t yet see how controlling he can be.



One day, the Held family moves in across the street. Mr. Held is a dentist, but he struggles to find work because he is Jewish. He moves to Katalin Street for a fresh start. The Helds have a daughter called Henriette. Henriette, sweet and quiet, struggles to make new friends. Feeling comfortable around Henriette, Blanka befriends her. Before long, Irén gets to know her, too, and the three girls become great friends.

The problems start in the mid-1930s. Anti-Semitism is on the rise, and the Helds feel threatened wherever they go. As the only Jewish family on the street, the Helds fret about what the future holds for them, but the Elekeses and the Major reassure them that everything will be fine.

Unfortunately, however, everything is not fine. In 1944, the Nazis invade Hungary, planning to exterminate or imprison every Jew they encounter. The Helds decide to conceal their identity from the Nazis for as long as they can. While Henriette frets that she will never find love or happiness, Bálint proposes to Irén; they plan to marry before the year is out. Now, Henriette feels more alone than ever.



During Bálint and Irén’s engagement party, the Major receives disturbing news about Mr. and Mrs. Held. The Nazis have arrested them because they are Jewish. It is unlikely they will return home. The Major decides to shelter Henriette in his own home, but he cannot hide her for long. The Nazis attack his home, killing him. When they find Henriette hiding upstairs, they kill her, too. The murders change the residents of Katalin Street forever.

Henriette’s story isn’t over. When she dies, she goes to the afterlife. From here, she watches life unfold on Katalin Street. She resents that the residents didn’t protect her from death, and she is jealous that Irén has a shot at happiness. Regretting that she will never marry anyone, she despairs that she will never know what it is like to have children.

As Henriette watches from the afterlife, life deteriorates for her old friends. The Soviet Union takes Bálint prisoner, and he returns a broken man. No longer wanting to marry Irén, all Bálint wants to do is fight against oppression. Blanka hates him for leaving Irén heartbroken, and for the first time, the sisters grow close.



Irén doesn’t know that Blanka plans to take revenge against Bálint. She makes false corruption claims against him to the Soviets. The Soviets arrest him again and exile him to a remote village on the outskirts of Hungary. Irén, not knowing that the claims are false, is grateful to Blanka for exposing the true depths of his corruption.

Soon Irén learns about Blanka’s deceit. It turns out that Blanka enjoys making false claims to the Soviets about people she doesn’t like. She is responsible for the exile of multiple people from the village. Irén sends Blanka away, and she marries Pali. They have a daughter called Kinga.

Sometime later, Bálint returns from exile. Still in love with Irén, he wants her to leave Pali. Irén admits that she only married Pali for stability, but she fears that it is too late to leave him now. Bálint urges her to take a chance on him, and the novel ends with the sense that she might. All the while, Henriette watches on, longing for a time when they could all return to Katalin Street to relive their childhood.