Čierny Slnovrat)
A Black Solstice (Čierny slnovrat) Author: Klára Jarunková First Published: 1979 Translations: Hungarian (Fekete napforduló, 1981); Czech (Černý slunovrat, 1984); Ukrainian (Čorne soncestojannja, 1985). Film Adaptation: Čierny slnovrat, TV film; screenplay Ondrej Sliacky, film director Ivan Teren, premiered 25 March 1985. About the Author: Klára Jarunková (1922–2005) was born in Červená Skala in the Slo- vakian mountains Low Tatras. When she was eight years old, her mother died. She graduated from the high school in Banská Bystrica, she never finished her studies of Slovak and philosophy at Comenius University in Bratislava. From 1940 to 1943, she worked as a teacher near her birthplace. After the war, she was a clerk, an editor for the Czechoslovak Radio and the satirical magazine Roháč. She wrote many successful books for children and novels for girls and teenagers. They were often translated into foreign languages. The basis of the fictional world of her works is often a confronta- tion between children and adults as seen through children’s eyes. Content and Interpretation The novel, consisting of 16 chapters, is situated in Central Slovakia, Banská Bystrica and its surroundings, at the end of World War II, from November 1944 to March 1945. The historical background of the plot is the Slovak National Uprising against the clerofascist regime in Slovakia connected with Hitler’s Germany. The heart of the up- rising was Banská Bystrica. The uprising broke out at the end of August 1944, but the Nazi army, supported by Slovak collaborators, started a counter-offensive. At the end of October 1944, German troops had also taken Banská Bystrica.
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