Prose  |  English sample translation available

A collection of loosely interconnected stories about women written in a pure style.

A set of twelve short stories loosely following on from one another about a number of heroines who share the same lack of grounding: Tereza staves off boredom with lovers, Karla with fun, Klára with wealth, Eva by sacrificing herself for her family, Alice by being brave… Events are supported by memories of a formative youth that leads to infidelity, promiscuity and abuse. These women’s stories collide with each other without any of them realizing it. Like the author’s debut work Koho vypijou lišky (Whom Foxes Drink Up, 2013), Places in the Dark is truly dark reading thanks in part to the language used, which is raw and direct.

Lidmila Kábrtová (1971) is a prose writer and journalist. She graduated in journalism from the Faculty of Social Sciences at Charles University in Prague and later in marketing communication from the Tomáš Baťa University in Zlín. She was involved in journalism for a long time before going on to focus on public relations. She is the author of several radio plays as part of the project ČRo 3 Vltava – Minutové hry (Czech Radio 3 – Minute-Long Plays). Her short stories have appeared in anthologies from the Listen publishing house. As a short-story writer and editor, she contributed to the book Mé dětství v socialismu (My Childhood under Communism, 2014). Her first book was the experimental prose work Koho vypijou lišky (Whom Foxes Drink Up, 2013). Místa ve tmě (Places in the Dark) is her second work of prose. She lives in Nymburk.