Zośka Papużanka

A return to childhood and summer vacations in the countryside sounds idyllic. But isn’t it just an illusion created in adulthood? The novel Koukol is told from the perspective of an 11-year-old narrator who is trying to make sense of the complicated relationships among her closest family members. The father, an authoritarian figure, is himself controlled by his infallible grandfather, while the mother has not been accepted by her new family. The child’s perspective reveals everyday conflicts, injustices, and feelings of guilt in a different light. The narrator sometimes attributes them to her own mistakes, sometimes sees them as part of a fairy tale, and at other times simply describes them in a way an adult wouldn’t – which only serves to highlight their complexity even more. Our memories are a bit like corncockle: at first glance, the beautiful flowers have poisonous seeds.

Published by Kniha Zlín, 2026