On the destructive impact of parental divorce on children and the war children wage against their parents

Literary fiction  |  English sample translation available

Petra Hůlová’s new novel examines the small-scale, private history of a family. Ten-year-old Miky is in the shared custody of his parents, which he detests, just as he hates his new siblings and his stepmother, who has “stolen” his dad. Miky lives in a world of his own, where reality intermingles with the world of mobile-phone and computer games. Misunderstandings, grief and pain lead to anger and revolt. Hůlová considers the rights of parents with regard to their children and the rights of children at a time when the family is breaking down and being reconfigured. She shows how thin the line is between an unruly brat and an unfortunate boy being dragged into the arguments of his guardians.