Allegories of contemporary society from Prague’s Havlíček Park.

Literary fiction  |  English sample translation available

A statue of the god Neptune adorns the fountain by the entrance to the famous artificial cave in one of Prague’s parks. Marek Toman has the god come to life and uses him as a means and mouthpiece to observe major events in Czech society from the 1870s, when the industrialist Mořic Gröbe has the Havlíček Gardens beautified according to his artistic scheme, to the present day. Toman makes skilful use of the historical backdrop and the malleable narrator Neptune – that is to say, the stuccoer Josef Posedloň – for a thoughtful depiction of entirely contemporary dramas. Over the course of more than a hundred years, his historical witness manages to experience a great deal: a synagogue, Czech, German and Jewish women, both World Wars and the postwar arrangements. A novel which could also serve as a history textbook for those who love stories.

Marek Toman (1967) is a graduate of Charles University’s Faculty of Arts, he has worked as a literary editor for Czech Radio and since 1997 at the Czech Republic Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In addition to his own creative work, he is also a translator and editor. His first book for children was O Ryzce a Vraníkovi (Ryzka and Vraník, 2003). His subsequent novels turned to the past: Dobytí ostrova Saaremaa (The Conquest of Saaremaa Island, 2007) described the Crusaders’ conquest of the Baltics, while Můj Golem (My Golem, 2009) was loosely based on the story of Rabbi Loew. His prose for adults also deals with historical material and how it influences the present; for example, in the books Veliká novina o hrozném mordu Šimona Abelese (The Shocking Story of the Murder of Shimon Abeles, 2014) and Chvála oportunismu (In Praise of Opportunism, 2016).