A mosaic of remarkable small stories behind watershed moments in history.

Literary fiction  |  English sample translation available

In this work of fiction, Jiří Padevět successfully demonstrates what a powerful influence little history has on the course of great history. Plausibly sketched-out situations from the lives of important historical figures – who were, above all, ordinary people – illustrate how crucial moments in history that formed chapters of later history books may have looked and in some cases did look. The book is divided into two parts: the larger one focuses on the author’s favourite period, the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia and the Second World War, while the other one is set after the war under communist totalitarianism. The dramatic stories are accompanied by authentic reports from the contemporary press; the juxtaposition of these two styles helps to give rise to a certain tension. At the heart of the stories is the linking up of separate events and people whose paths may or may not have crossed, as well as impartiality: the baddies are not condemned or the heroes glorified. The scrupulous presentation of facts with essayistic and literary flair takes on the character of a parable with a moral. These economical aphoristic texts with philosophical overlap and humour have a visual power. This completely different and humanly compelling view of key events in European history has earned the author a number of awards.

Jiří Padevět (1966) is a writer dealing predominantly with the history of the WWII resistance movement, the Holocaust and war events. After studying geodetics, working as a surveyor and teacher, he worked as a bookseller. Since 2006, he has been director of the publishing house Academia. He is the author of many books with historical themes, such as the award-winning Průvodce protektorátní Prahou (Guide to Protectorate Prague, 2013). In 2016, he published the book Anthropoid (with Pavel Šmejkal) and a year later, Dotek Anthropoidu (The Touch of Anthropoid). Also in these guidebooks about the Nazi occupation and its consequences, Jiří Padevět inventively describes the atmosphere in Prague in 1942 using a collage of documents of the time and fictional passages. Jiří Padevět was awarded an Operation Anthropoid commemorative medal.