Autors & Works
Arnon Grunberg (Holland): Tirza
Translation: Magda de Bruin-Hüblová, Argo 2009
Writing in his ironic-naturalistic style the Dutch literature star develops further his interest in psychically unstable characters, who suffer from existential fear and a loss of control. The hero of the novel loses all life certainties when his daughter decides to leave for Africa with her Moroccan boyfriend. And that is only the beginning of a bloody fall...
György Dragomán (Hungary): The White King
Translation: Anna Valentová, Dybbuk 2008
The young Hungarian novelist returns in his novel to the recent Communist past. The book offers a naive yet sharp perspective of a young boy who lives with his mother after his father had been arrested for activities against the state. Despite its heavy subject the novel is a catchy and emotionally intense image of everyday violence but also hope that not even a dictatorship can suppress.
Ingo Schulze (Germany): One More Story, Thirteen Stories in the Time-Honored Mode
Translation: Tomáš Dimter, Vakát 2008
In his „thirteen stories in the time-honoured mode“, which is the subtitle of the book, Schulze once again confirms his reputation of an excellent short story teller. The heroes of his stories try to shelter themselves against the fast pace of the age symbolised by a mobile phone and get themselves entangled into sometimes funny or grotesque but always sensitively told stories
Jean Echenoz (France): Courir
Translation: Jovanka Šotolová, Mladá fronta 2009
The latest novel of one of the most recognised French authors of the day deals with the life and sporting career of Emil Zátopek, who was employed with the Baťa company between 1937-1945. Once again Echenoz displays a remarkable talent for lingustically playfull and humorous texts. The Czech reader will surely appreciate the exact description of the life then.
José Luís Peixoto (Portugal): Blank Gaze (Nenhum Olhar)
Translation: Desislava Dimitrovová, Barrister-Principal 2004
The novel with an atmosphere of a magic-realistic saga comprises two books, which through the stories of Joseph-the father and Joseph-the son render both a spiritual and a physical decline of two generations in a nameless Portuguese village. The hypnotising principle of repetition enhances the mirroring of the eternal circle of life full of fatal passion, suffering and inevitable tragic.
Łukasz Dębski (Poland): Café Szafé
Translation: Jan Jeništa, Dauphin 2009
Café Szafé is a cosy Krakow café attracting a remarkable company every night. You will hear stories some more and some less credible but always entertaining and sometimes even slightly absurd. Just come by and have fun...
Mark Haddon (Great Britain): The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
Translation: Kateřina Novotná, Argo 2003
In the beginning of the story we encounter a dead dog and a fifteen-year-old Christopher, who decides to clarify the murder. The boy, however, is slightly different from his peers - he is autistic. It is his “different perspective“ that makes the story a unique experience combining remarkably funny perceptions with a pedantic sense of accuracy.
Martin Prinz (Austria): Der Räuber
Translation: Zuzana Augustová, Havran 2008
The Austrian author drew his inspiration from a real case of a bank robber and marathon runner, who in the 1980’s robbed a number of Austrian banks in a Ronald Reagan mask. It is not just the juicy criminal plot and the descriptions of robberies and escapes from the crime scenes that make the book interesting. The escape itself gradually becomes the main theme of the book, a metaphor for inner freedom.
Milena Oda (Czech Republic): Piquadrat
Translation: Hana Linhartová, 2009
The main character of the short story written by the German writing author of Czech origin is a mathematician Pius, whose obsession with the perfect world of numbers and especially the fascination with Ludolf’s number brings him to the very brim of sanity. The whole text is an imagined anxious monologue, both absurd and funny copying the steadfastness of Pius’s persistent ideas.
Niccolò Ammaniti (Italy): Steal You Away
Translation: Alice Flemrová, Havran 2008
Considered one of the best Italian authors of his generation, Ammaniti develops a double theme in his novel - a record of emotional maturing of a boy Pietro and a love story of an aging playboy Graziano. Both the heroes have to face the merciless pressure of the world around them. The result is an engrossing combination of a bildungsroman, a detective story and a love story.
Norman Manea (Romania): The Hooligan's Return
Translation: Jiří Našinec, Havran 2008
In his autobiographical novel awarded by the French Prix Médicis the Romanian author of Jewish origin returns not only to the recent past of the Communist Romania but also describes his own immigrant life in America and a confrontation with his post-revolutionary homeland developing through memories and fictive dialogues the theme of human identity and exile.
Saskia de Coster (Belgium-Flanders): Hero
Translation: Magda de Bruin-Hüblová, Pistorius & Olšanská 2008
The heroine of a linguistically playful, yet chilling novel written by the Belgian author de Coster is a maverick girl Lien, who tells a story of her friendship with an autistic boy Marcus. Surrounded by the adult world they create a world of their own, in which children games melt with first erotic experience and strangely innocent cruelty. Years later Lien is tasked with finding a soldier of the same name...
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