A book of two storylines that eventually interconnect, together with the fates of two individuals who could not be more distant from one another – a father and daughter.

Literary fiction  |  English sample translation available

Alena Mornštajnová, a novelist who excels in capturing the complexity of human relationships, brings us another sweeping family history bound up with the 20th-century history of the Czech lands. This time she focuses on the difficulties of the father-daughter relationship and how it develops. In the narrative prose Years of Silence this is illustrated using the example of an introverted girl called Bohdana who lives with her surly father and the kind-hearted, submissive Běla – it is hardly surprising that this combination gives rise to tension. The novel’s chapters, speakers and time frames alternate – the parallel story of the staunch communist Svatopluk Žák, Bohdana’s father, is an example of the socialist illusion of a planned future. This powerful, intimate novel with an enigmatic atmosphere culminates at the moment when the two storylines intersect.