In the near future, society is close to embracing The Movement’s reforms. What happens to those who cannot reform?

Literary fiction, Science fiction  |  English sample translation available

The Movement’s founding ideology emphasises that women should be valued for their inner qualities, spirit and character, and not solely for their physical attributes. Men have been forbidden to be attracted women on the basis of their bodies. Some continue with unreformed attitudes but submit to interment and re-education. However, The Movement also struggles with women and their ‘old attitudes’.

The Movement’s historian is an unapologetic guard at one of these re-education institutions. She describes how The Movement started, her own journey, the challenges faced and what happens when programmes fail. She believes The Movement is near to its final victory – everybody accepts the new programme.

Unapologetic, ambiguous, terrifying. Petra Hůlová, at her best!

Petra Hůlová (1979) is a fiction writer and the recipient of several literary awards, including Czechia’s highest literary recognitions – the Magnesia Litera Award, the Josef Škvorecký Award and the Jiří Orten Award. She studied languages, culture, and anthropology at universities in Prague, Ulan Bator and New York, and was a Fulbright scholar in the USA. Her first novel, Paměť mojí babičce (All This Belongs to Me, 2002), won the Magnesia Litera Award for Discovery of the Year. The English translation by Alex Zucker won the ALTA National Translation Award. Her fourth novel, Umělohmotný třípokoj (2006), won the Jiří Orten Prize for the best work of prose or poetry by an author under thirty; Alex Zucker’s English Translation won the PEN Translates Award. In total, her novels and two plays of hers have been translated into more than ten languages. Nejvyšší karta (Trump Card, 2023), an extraordinary novel about culture wars in our everyday life, is her latest novel. She lives in Prague.