If you’re keen to explore Czech culture in depth and from different angles, reading classic and contemporary Czech books could be the best option for you. Many of them have been translated to English. Photo credit: Pexels
Brno, Jul 5 (BEC) – Karolinum Press, part of the Charles University in Prague, publishes the Modern Czech Classics series, contemporary translations of influential Czech literary works into English (and other languages). These books were not previously available to a global readership due to censorship, the effects of Cold War or repeated political disruption of Czech publishing and its international ties. So far, 12 books have been published since 2003, including paperback editions of works by Bohumil Hrabal (Rukověť pábitelského učně, Rambling On), Vladislav Vančura (Rozmarné léto, Summer of Caprice), Zdeněk Jirotka (Saturnin), Karel Poláček (Bylo nás pět, We Were a Handful), and Jaroslav Hašek (Velitelem města Bugulmy, Behind the Lines). You might not know these names but ask your Czech friends: they certainly do. If you want to get a taste of Czech literary style, any of these would be a good place to start.
In Brno, a publishing house that focuses on unique works of fiction by contemporary Czech authors in English has been established recently. Pálava Publishing has brought out two titles in the Czech Fiction Series – Irena Dousková’s bestseller Hrdý Budžes (B. Proudew, translated by Melvyn Clarke) and Martin Fahrner’s novel Steiner aneb Co jsme dělali (The Invincible Seven, translated by Andrew Oakland).
At the Brno Expat Centre we have a few of these Czech literary works (Rambling On; B. Proudew; The Invincible Seven; Rustic Baroque) as well as books on the Czech Republic and Brno (The Czechs in a Nutshell; Brno in Seven Chapters). If you’d like to borrow one, just pay us a visit.
English literature
Did you know there is a second-hand English bookshop in Brno? Have a look at the Hattie’s English Bookshop Facebook page or browse in person at the vintage toy shop Husákovy děti (Křížová 4). There is also a group for Book lovers in Brno.
For children
Visit the newly-opened Dlouhá Punčocha – Long Stocking bookshop: either their website or their shop close to Česká. Or you can join a session of the Multilingual Book Club for Kids: “A Proč?”. They are organised by an expat and you will have a chance to read stories in various languages (English, Spanish and Czech so far) and create art and crafts related to them.
English book clubs and foreign-language libraries in Brno
If you’d like to discuss literature with like-minded people, you can attend one of The Brno Book Club meetings. Each month they choose a book (no longer than 400 pages) to read and talk about in English. Similar meetings are also held by the Moravian Library (Kounicova 65a). At the Reading Group you will discover the diversity of contemporary English-language literature. The monthly meetings are held in English and you can borrow the book at the Foreign Libraries.
Brno Expat Centre Clues is a series of practical articles dealing with various aspects of life in Brno. Written in co-operation with Brno Daily by Brno Expat Centre consultants, a new article is published every Thursday.
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