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New Czech Books Autumn 2018 New Czech Books A u t u m n 2 0 18 Published for promotional purposes by the Czech Literary Centre ISBN 978-80-7051-253-1 Introduction The latest edition of New Czech Books presents the most interesting current Czech prose, poetry, genre fiction, and books for children CzechLit – and young adults. It is no surprise that the books contain topics which have had an important presence in global social debates. A notable trend in this selection are novels by female authors with Czech Literary Centre strong women characters or even a utopian movement methodi- cally trying to transform the view of the female body and of wom- is a state-funded organisation supporting and promoting Czech en in society. Where does this explicitly and implicitly socially en- literature abroad and in the Czech Republic. The centre is a sec- gaged current originate? Does it not represent a reaction against tion of the Moravian Library. populism in contemporary politics, which evokes historical social structures with a strong male leader? These are questions we CzechLit: can ask ourselves when browsing through the current selection of Czech literature. In connection with this, it is worth highlighting • Promotes prose, literature for • Cooperates with the network of Marcela Straková and Naďa Linková’s, Bytová revolta (Revolution children and young adults, po- Czech Centres, which promote Begins at Home), a collection of interviews with important women etry, drama, comics, non-fiction Czech culture abroad, as well of the pre-Velvet Revolution underground movement, which cap- and new forms of literature as with other governmental tures their crucial, yet historically overlooked role, in the political and non-governmental cultural and social changes before the fall of Communism in 1989. • Acts as an information hub for and non-profit organisations foreign publishers, translators, and individuals I would also like to draw attention to two books, which, using differ- Czech studies specialists, ent forms, deal with one of the most complicated real-life cases of event organisers and others • Is involved in the presentation child abuse and false identity in modern Czech history. The novel, interested in Czech literature of Czech literature at book fairs Slabikář (Primer), by Adéla Knapová and the comics, Svatá Barbora and book culture abroad in cooperation with its (Saint Barbara), by Marek Šindelka, Vojtěch Mašek and Marek parent institution Pokorný lead readers along the fine line between reality and fic- • Provides grants for authors to tion to a noir-like story, which still hasn’t been definitively solved. attend cultural events abroad • Holds the annual Susanna Roth It’s worth adding, that the current selection of Czech comics is no- Award for young translators of table because of its variety, both in terms of content and style: the • Organises residencies for for- Czech literature aforementioned adaptation of a criminal investigation is accom- eign translators, Czech studies panied by a steampunk- inflected version of Voltaire’sCandide by specialists and authors Karel Jerie and the horror detective story, Sestry Dietlovy (The Dietl Sisters), by Vojtěch Mašek. • Runs the bilingual website czechlit.cz with information There is only space to mention a few books in this introduction. about books, authors, grants, However, the landscape of contemporary Czech literature is much residencies and Czech litera- more diverse and the introduction itself is meant to only serve as ture news an invitation. I believe the chosen books communicate in a lan- guage shared by readers not only in the Czech Republic but also beyond its borders. Ondřej Buddeus CzechLit Head Coordinator Czech Literary Centre Národní dům nám. Míru 9 120 00 Prague 2 Czech Republic www.czechlit.cz [email protected] CONTENTS PROSE CHILDREN’S AND YOUNG ADULT Josef Pánek 8 Petr Stančík 42 LOVE IN THE TIME OF GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE H2O AND THE SECRET WATER MISSION Petra Hůlová 10 František Tichý 46 A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE MOVEMENT TRANSPORT TO ETERNITY Jiří Kratochvil 12 Vojtěch Matocha 50 BAKSHISH PRAŠINA Dita Táborská 14 MALINKA and BĚSA COMICS Ludvík Němec 16 A WOMAN IN PARENTHESIS Marek Šindelka, Vojtěch Mašek & Marek Pokorný 54 SAINT BARBARA Magdalena Platzová 18 THE OTHER SIDE OF SILENCE Karel Jerie 58 CANDIDE 1–3 Adéla Knapová 20 PRIMER Vojtěch Mašek 62 THE DIETL SISTERS Viktorie Hanišová 22 THE MUSHROOM GATHERER Petra Dvořáková 24 NON-FICTION THE VILLAGE Marcela Linková & Naďa Straková (eds) 68 Vladimíra Valová 26 REVOLUTION BEGINS AT HOME: THE WOMEN OF CZECH DISSENT TO THE INTERIOR Martin C. Putna 70 Martin Goffa 28 IMAGES FROM THE CULTURAL HISTORY OF CENTRAL EUROPE REDEMPTION Františka Vrbenská & Lucie Lukačovičová 30 THE BURNING HORSE POETRY Ivan Wernisch 34 PERNAMBUCO Sylva Fischerová 36 THE WORLD CLOCK Petr Borkovec 38 A HERBARIUM FOR SOMETHING WORSE Prose 9 Prose – Literary Fiction Josef Pánek LOVE IN THE TIME OF GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE We are all a little racist in this global village called the Earth. Love in the Time of Global Climate Change Indian woman. The protagonist is pre- is set in Bangalore, India, where the occupied with the problems of the con- main character, Tomáš, arrives for an temporary world: the lack of academic Urban Miloš Photo: international science conference. There rigour, the nation’s past, xenophobia, he not only has to contend with culture racism, migration, cultural stereo- shock, the xenophobic attitudes of his types and the differences between East international colleagues and feelings of and West. At the same time, he is a rootlessness, but also his own help- modern-day outcast, a person without a lessness and bittersweet memories. He home or anchor. searches for the roots of stereotypes in Pánek’s distinctive style, giving his own thinking, but due to the consis- the impression of a hurried and spo- Josef Pánek (b. 1966) is a writer, mountaineer, musician and molecular geneti- tent use of the second-person plural, it ken form of language, flows naturally, cist. He was awarded his doctorate at the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics of is ultimately the reader he is address- maintaining the tension and height- Charles University and now works as a molecular geneticist at the Institute of ing. The narrator juxtaposes the reality ening the absurdity of a chaotic world. Microbiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences. Pánek lived abroad for an exten- of India with Tomáš’s experiences from The readability and believability are sive period. He is the author of a collection of short stories, Kopáč opálů (The Opal the sharply contrasting country of bolstered by the author’s experiences Digger, 2013), and the novella, Láska v době globálních klimatických změn (Love in the Iceland, where a first-person narrative as an émigré, thanks to which the novel Time of Global Climate Change, 2017), which was awarded the Magnesia Litera for appears. These are the sections about reads almost like a travelogue. prose. Tomáš’s love story with an emancipated “Love in the Time of Global Climate Change is a revelation. It is a contemporary work of literature with a distinctive flow of speech that attempts to formu- late the rootlessness of modern man while examining the parochialism of racism and xenophobia from the per- spective of a citizen of the world.” —A2 “The author convincingly depicts ac- celerated learning and communication RIGHTS SOLD: – the voice of a lost nomad. Pánek’s fas- Poland (Stara szkola), Bulgaria (Iskry), Italy (Keller editore), Croatia (Umjetnička organizacija cinating style makes his work unique Artikulacije) among Czech and international prose AWARDS: Láska v době globálních klimatických změn dealing with expatriot themes.” 2018 Magnesia Litera Award – Prose Argo, 2017, 160 pp —Respekt RIGHTS: Argo publishers Veronika Chaloupková: [email protected] 8 www.argo.cz 11 Prose – Literary Fiction Petra Hůlová A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE MOVEMENT In the near future, society is close to embracing The Movement’s reforms. What happens to those who cannot reform? The Movement’s founding ideology em- The Movement’s historian is an phasises that women should be valued unapologetic guard at one of these for their inner qualities, spirit and char- re-education institutions. She describes acter, and not solely for their physical how The Movement started, her own attributes. Men have been forbidden to journey, the challenges faced and what Photo: Martin Rýz be attracted women on the basis of their happens when programmes fail. She be- bodies. Some continue with unre- lieves The Movement is near to its final formed attitudes but submit to inter- victory – everybody accepts the new ment and re-education. However, The programme. Movement also struggles with women Unapologetic, ambiguous, terrify- and their ‘old attitudes’. ing. Petra Hůlová, at her best! Petra Hůlová (b. 1979) is an author of novels, plays, and screenplays which have won numerous awards and she is a regular commentator on current events for the Czech press. She studied language, culture, and anthropology at universities in Prague, Ulan Bator, and New York, and was a Fulbright scholar in the USA. Her nine novels and two plays have been translated into more than ten languages including English, German and French. “Petra Hůlová has managed to write a book which is committed in the best sense of the word: it unsettles, pro- vokes, angers. It forces you to think while it also maintains a high literary standard.” —MF Dnes “By setting her story in a dystopian world, Petra Hůlová has created room for a narrative which goes far beyond today‘s discussions in society about Stručné dějiny Hnutí equal rights and protection for women.” Torst, 2018, 184 pp —Aktuálně.cz RIGHTS: Jantar Publishing Michael Tate: [email protected] 10 www.jantarpublishing.com 13 Prose – Literary Fiction Jiří Kratochvil BAKSHISH This farce with an imp as narrator is an original take on the eternal story of man and woman.
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