What can’t be removed from the sole

When you're an advisor to the Prime Minister himself, you shouldn't have anything to fear. Especially after long years of loyal and discreet service to the state. You shouldn't even fear the Prime Minister when, for the first time in your life, you seek a small favour from him in a privatisation deal that could change the lives of everyone involved. But when is the right time to approach him? Time flies and events unfold, but the crucial request never leaves the advisor's lips. He's on the verge of making his move, but strange connections haunt him again and again. Beautiful visions of a wealthy life transform into the spectre of disaster. But only the hero of this humorous, at times sarcastic, narrative knows about it.

Can a completely legal operation threaten the decades-long reputation of a dedicated servant of the republic, a man who proved his reliability and sense of order even under the previous regime?

This unusually insightful glimpse behind the scenes of high politics is a fictional construction by the author. Or is it? Are we really only meeting literary characters, or actual players, opponents, cynics, and elegant thieves? Is politics in the Czech Republic truly a service to the homeland? Sometimes, a resemblance is no coincidence…

Božena Svobodová

After the successful and repeated publication of her novel 'It's Grandma's Fault' (1999, 2002), which was awarded Funniest Book of the Year, the writer dedicated herself to humanitarian activities. She founded a worldwide course, 'How Not to Take Yourself Seriously', which attracted hundreds of statesmen, major entrepreneurs, and religious authorities. For this achievement, she received the International Wart Award (New York 2005) and the No Activity Grand Prix from the Lin-Piao Society (Beijing 2007).

During the course, which was disrupted by only two incidents (George W. Bush left halfway through the lectures, saying, 'I have no idea what's going on!' and the Czech actor and director Jan Kačer interrupted his studies by stating, 'I don't want to assist in the genocide of the Czech elites!'), she gathered material for this novella. To do so, she got a job at the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic using her lover's identity card. When, after months of waiting, she still hadn't received any work instructions, she started writing.