A brisk, engagingly written family mosaic about three siblings and the desire to live your own life in spite of the darkness.

Literary fiction  |  English sample translation available

While travelling on the subway, the main protagonist Marie witnesses the suicide of a young girl. This tragic event forces her to consider her own chaotic life, relationships and darkness. To the rhythmic rumble of the train, scenes appear from the past, and these tragic, as well as occasionally comic fragments, are gradually pieced together to form the story of her family and two siblings. No matter how much Marie’s life is filled with tragedy, depression and suicidal thoughts, there is also humour (albeit cynical) and a forthright look at relationships and love.

The novel has been selected to be part of the EU CELA project, which connects and mentors emerging European authors and translators.

Lucie Faulerová (1989) is a writer who graduated in Czech Studies from Palacký University in Olomouc. Her doctoral thesis examined the phenomenon of the unreliable narrator. She has been an editor at the literary journal Aluze since 2014, and also works with Czech conceptual artist Kateřina Šedá – for example, on the book Brnox, which won the 2017 Magnesia Litera Award in the journalism category. Her debut novel, Lapači prachu (Dust Catchers), was published in 2017 and rights have been sold to Germany and Spain. Faulerová’s second novel, Smrtholka (Deathmaiden), came out in 2020.