Bohuslava Bradbrook was born in Czechoslovakia and educated at the universities of Prague, Innsbruck and Oxford. She lives now in Cambridge and is the author of Karel
Capek: In Search of Truth, Tolerance and Trust and The
Liberating Beauty of Little Things: Memoir of a Refugee, as well as numerous articles and reviews on Czech literature in scholarly journals, symposia and the Encyclopedia
of World Literature in the 20th Century.
“The leading
figures of modern Czech prose writing are certainly here, but
Bradbrook also spotlights lesser-known writers worthy of attention.
Following a brief biography, she comments on and evaluates one
(or more) of the subject’s works with original insights
that extend beyond mere description; she finishes with citations
of translated works. Sadly, a search of WorldCat produced no
English translations for half of the authors represented. Thus,
the hope expressed in the preface, ‘that the present work
will serve as a guide to potential translators in the future,
as well as readers,’ must be endorsed. Recommended.” Choice
The turbulent events
of World War II and the subsequent communist regime in Czechoslovakia
strongly restricted Czech writers’ freedom of expression.
Many sought and found literary freedom in exile. As Czech literature
was developing in two very different locations and conditions,
writers on both sides created diverse, yet extraordinarily
interesting and commendable works; all were united in their
wish to see their
homeland liberated from the totalitarian regime.
The suffering and generally adverse conditions of those who
stayed at home are reflected in the works written both at home
and in exile, especially after the
two parties found secret ways of communicating between themselves. Many works
abound in wit and humour, including Jewish themes, despite the difficult circumstances.
After the fall of communism had brought the desired freedom of expression for
all writers, the recent past still occasionally echoes in Czech literary works,
but is written and read from new perspectives.
As the dark age now seems to be gradually falling into oblivion, it is important
to be reminded that even in the darkest times talented writers were alert to
Czech national, literary and Jewish undertones, and produced works which English-speaking
readers would find new, fresh and captivating. While the availability of books
in English may be still in a minority, synoptic interpretations of prose writings
not yet translated to English provided in this Handbook add integral features
that help to complete the picture of life at a time when cultural links between
two parts of Europe were painfully severed.
