Edgar Dutka

Mother Disappeared

Matka vzala roha Matka vzala roha
Matka vzala roha
Prostor, 2016, 176 pp
9788072603367
Literary fiction, Short stories

This collection of semi-autobiographical short stories is a loose sequel to At Shelter 5 (U útulku 5), in which Edgar Dutka described his experiences living in a children’s home after his mother was imprisoned by the Communist regime in the autumn of 1948. His mother’s escape from prison and then from Czechoslovakia is the subject of the first and longest story. In the following texts we witness the main character’s school years, growing up in a foster family and having to overcome emotional turmoil. The collection also takes the reader to Australia, where the author spent a year with his mother after being apart for twenty years.

Edgard Dutka is a scriptwriter, director, dramatist and writer. He was awarded the State Prize for Literature in 2005. His books have been published in several languages, including German and Dutch.

Praise

“[Dutka’s] unpretentious, modest ‘stylisation of life’ always retains its inner truth. In small details, paradoxes of specific everyday situations, in his feeling for the natural cadence of speech and uncontrived expressions, in all this lies the author’s narrative mastery.”

— Jiří Krejčí, Host

Matka vzala roha
Prostor, 2016, 176 pp
9788072603367