Povídky
Short Stories by Czech Women
Edited by Nancy Hawker
About the Book
Young women drift through Prague wondering about unplanned pregnancies, a child’s reflections on the Christian concept of sinfulness lead him to resolve to sin ‘just a little bit’, drunken men banter over interminable card games, and a woman’s salvation comes in the unexpected form of pickled buttocks.
Bringing together authors of different generations, styles and backgrounds – including, for the first time in English translation, two stories by Czech Roma – this collection expresses women’s multiple perspectives on social and intimate issues with by turns caustic and sensitive insight into human nature.
About the Contributors
Nancy Hawker is reading Languages and Cultures at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. Raised in France and the Czech Republic, in the course of her studies she has absorbed English, French, Czech, Hebrew and Arabic literature.
Reviews
'What is the selling-point of post-Communist literature?" If that is indeed the question, then the humour, acuity and inventiveness of many stories in Povidky must be part of the answer.' Maya Jaggi, Guardian
'Wonderfully diverse, energetic and entertaining.' Bernie Higgins, One Eye Open
