Literary fiction

In her new novel, Jakuba Katalpa explores the world of a German family stricken by the afflictions of the two World Wars, the worlds of Sudeten during the war and post-bellum Prague. The heroine’s promising life, carefree and straightforward at first, begins to crack over time, pink glasses give way to disillusion and the reader is faced with a question – is it really possible, after so many years, to find the truth? The author’s chiselled language sharply contrasts with the rawness of her depictions of the individual characters’ life milestones, enabling her to explore thoroughly the themes of loss and rootlessness which dominate the entire novel.

Read an English excerpt here.

Praise

“In lucid language and short, telling chapters, Katalpa creates imaginative micro-narratives of characters […] living in the Sudetenland, challenging stereotypes of the Germans in the Czech lands before, during, and after World War II.”

— Michelle Woods, Literary Hub