Various: Marek: Můj uncle Odysseus -MP3-CD

Cunning and enterprising Josef Frajvald begins his private “odyssey” back in the days of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, when he decides to improve his inherited funeral home in a hitherto unprecedented way.

Alongside Uncle Pepin from the works of Bohumil Hrabal and Father Leo Popper from the novellas and short stories of Ota Pavel, the distinctive Josef Frajvald from the novel Můj strýc Odysseus (My Uncle Odysseus) by Jiří Marek (1914–1994) holds an honourable place in the colourful gallery of famous Czech “literary relatives”. The author of the popular crime triptych Panoptikum starých kriminálních příběhů, Panoptikum hříšných lidí, and Panoptikum Města pražského (also known from film and television adaptations), returns in his travesty of Homer's epic to Vienna in the final years of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy and to First Republic Prague. The title hero abandons his planned career as a veterinarian and throws himself into the funeral business. He experiences a series of adventures, including personal romantic escapades, an imaginative use of the First World War to enhance his own business, and an encounter with the post-war Czech political scene, which for a time lands him as far away as Italy. Despite his trade as the owner of a funeral home, Marek's Uncle Frajvald is, above all, a man who loves life and knows how to find the right perspective, helping him navigate its pitfalls much like the legendary Odysseus once dealt with its challenges.

Track List

My Uncle Odysseus
Chapter 1 / Chapter 2 / Chapter 3 / Chapter 4 / Chapter 5 / Chapter 6 / Chapter 7 / Chapter 8 / Chapter 9 / Chapter 10 / Chapter 11 / Chapter 12 / Chapter 13 / Chapter 14 / Chapter 15 / Chapter 16 / Chapter 17 / Chapter 18 / Chapter 19 / Chapter 20