Barbora Hrínová
Timid House (Plachý dům)
SLOVAKIA
BOOK
This warm and humorous novel follows the story of Ambroz, an aging music teacher, and his family. Ambroz, a double bassist, teaches piano; he is also a collector of poems and a dog lover. At first glance, he may seem like someone who doesn’t fit into today’s fast-paced world, which craves change. Upon closer inspection, however, we discover in him a master of ordinary life and that, as we all know, is often the most extraordinary of all. Taking a walk with Ambroz through the park, leaning out the window with him, sitting with him in the classroom, or traveling back in time with him means brushing aside the superficial trappings of modern daily life and diving into the heart of where the important things happen.
Published by Artforum, 2025
AUTHOR
© Tomas Benedikovic
Barbora Hrínová (* 1984) is a Slovak writer and screenwriter. She currently works as an assistant professor at the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava. She is the author of several radio plays and audio documentaries for RTVS and Český rozhlas. She has also collaborated on television series and the documentary series Prvá. She is a three-time finalist in the Poviedka literary competition and received the prestigious Anasoft Litera literary award for her first book, the short story collection Jednorožci (2020, Czech edition 2022). The Czech translation, Plachý dům, was published in 2026.
