An exceptional work of Czech prose from the late 20th century
This adventurous love story, told in a dynamic, linguistically rich, and rhythmic narrative, branches out into numerous imaginative digressions, poetic images, and visions. The narrator and protagonist, Potok, uses colloquial language—a mix of all the world's tongues—to capture many historical facts, such as the Holocaust, the Chernobyl disaster, the underground's resistance against oppression in communist Czechoslovakia, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the beginning of the wild nineties when anything was possible. He wanders or flees through the urban and rural peripheries of Central Europe, living the high life as well as in marketplaces, at train stations, or on a rubbish tip. And all the while, his soul is searching for its sister.
The novel, which has already been translated into German, English, Hungarian, Polish, and Slovenian, was published in two authorial versions in 1994 and 1996. This edition is based on the first, unabridged version and notes its later changes in the editorial report. The commentary also tracks the wide acclaim this book has received within Czech culture.
