Book Review: The Address by Marga Minco

The Address by Marga Minco is a short war-fiction story about a family lost in the heat and hatred of WW-II. The story is staged immediately after the Second World War. In this world war, Hitler and his Nazi army carried out brutalities on Jews. They sent millions of Jews from almost all parts of Europe to the concentration camps to die. That’s was shocking and equally sad.

So the story is about a young girl (the narrator itself). The war is over and she has survived the dark days of Nazi regime but sadly all her family members are dead. She lives in a small, hut-kind of room, devoid of all facilities and luggage not so far from a station.

She remembers an address told by her mother: Number 46, Marconi Street. Now the narrator is inquisitive about the luggage which they had when living in their own house during the wartime. She knows that her luggage is there at that address. She goes there and an old lady opens the door. The narrator recognizes the old lady because she is wearing the old green cardigan of her mother. The narrator calls for Mrs Dorling – an old acquaintance of her mother. But surprisingly, the old lady refuses to recognize her. She rather says, “Have you come back? I thought that no one had come back.”

The narrator thinks that she has pressed the wrong door-bell but after seeing that green cardigan she thinks otherwise. No matter what, the narrator returns home empty-handed and frustrated.

The narrator remembers that whenever she used to come home (probably she was living out for studies) she would see Mrs Dorling carrying something or other to her house. Upon asking, her mother said that Mrs Dorling would keep their valuable luggage safe and return once the bad time was over.

The narrator on an impulse comes again to the same address. This time the door is opened by her daughter, a young girl of around fifteen. She says that her mother is out and will be back in sometime. The narrator agrees to wait till Mrs Dorling comes home. The girl invites the narrator inside. Shockingly, the narrator inside sees that their house is full of luggage which once belonged to her family. She feels back at her home but there is a strange voice within her that disturbs her. She wants to take this entire luggage with her but at the same time her old memories compel her not to do so. As this may force her to remind all those people who once were part of her life. It is melancholy to live with the memories of dead. To get rid of bad times’ memories, she leaves the home.

After reading this story, it becomes clear that Mrs Dorling betrayed her family. She had ulterior motives behind her help, in reality she wanted to grab their luggage. How war affects simple people’s lives is clearly evident from this story. The story not only evokes deep hidden pain but also sheds light on the misery associated with unwanted wars.