The Czech Republic, an often-occupied, subversively resistant, and literature-obsessed country, has produced more than its share of literary figures in the second half of the 20th century. Here is the first collection of short stories and novel excerpts by contemporary Czech women writers. These sixteen writers combine the often ironic style of old Czech literature with postmodern consciousness in texts that question identity and history, but also spin new fairy tales.
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Spanning more than 30 years, the stories and novel excerpts in this collection tend to combine folklore and mythology with political ideology--a characteristic they have in common with much twentieth-century Czech literature. Marriage, sexuality, motherhood, gender identity, the father-daughter relationship, and the impact of political and cultural upheaval on the everyday lives of women are among the wide variety of themes explored. Sometimes funny and often poignant, the stories together afford a fascinating glimpse into the female psyche as seen through the lens of Czechoslovakian culture. Editor Buchler's introduction places each story in historical and political context and discusses events from the lives of the authors that are not only relevant to the stories but also help in understanding the impact politics has had on modern Czechoslovakian literature. Some noteworthy contributions are Daniela Fischerova's "Allskin Dances on Tables," Tereza Bouckova's "Woman from the Region of Tyre," Alexandra Berkova's "The Funeral," Lenka Prochazkova's "Good New Times," and Vera Linhartova's "Barbarian Woman in Captivity." Bonnie Johnston
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3.0 out of 5 stars
Seeking Pekarkova,
This review is from: Allskin and Other Tales by Contemporary Czech Wome (Paperback)
Any other Iva Pekarkova fans out there? Anyone else devour her Truck Stop Rainbows or The World is Round only to anxiously await her next work? Well, her latest translated work can be found in Allskin, where she is one of several contemporary women writers from the Czech Republic showcased in the collection. Before delving into her short story, "Talibe," I turned to her author bio in the index and was stunned to learn that she has left NYC and returned to her native Prague! "Talibe," which is an excerpt from her latest novel, Gimme the money, was a little disappointing but had enough Iva-risms concerning men, sex and NYC for me to be glad that I purchased the book. I agree with Allskin editor A. Buchler that Pekarkova's "...sexual openness makes her a unique phenomenon in contemporary Czech literature by women..." Editor Buchler does a capable and succinct job in summing up the overall history of Czech literature but when she discusses the women's stories in the book, seems to resort to "postmodern babble" and stretches credibility by trying to make the message and meaning behind the Allskin stories fit into her pomo jargon, using words like "postmodern other; intertextuality; non-causal, collage-like narrative." Buchler insists that these female narratives will explore female rebellion and disobedience but I was reminded of one European woman's statement about "women's lib:" "We're still just working on plain old liberation over here!!" After all, the authors in Allskin have only been loosed from communism's grip for ten years. Buchler's wish for these authors to "openly validate the irrational, intuitive view of the world against the masculine, scientific quest for explanations..." just ain't happening yet. But give it time. Such things require time. "Allskin," the story after which this collection is titled, instantly made me a Daniela Fischerova fan. The pages of her story are now all marked up with stars by such gems like "I spent my time hanging around pubs, indulging in feelings of futility." From Brabcova's story I underlined "Even the dead had to rise for the national anthem," a gouge at the old Communist regime. A protagonist with "stretchmarks on the brain" narrates Bouckova's story about a woman dealing with the agonies of infertility (the story has a confusing ending, though). I found it interesting to watch Daniela Hodrova's narrator in "Theta" descend further and further into her fictive persona. Tomin's "Joseph Stalin" put me in mind of the tone of Christa Wolf's Patterns of Childhood as she describes growing up in a dictatorship. (I had to reread this story several times, too, to see if Tomin was being ironic or not). My glowing admiration for Czech author Ludvik Vaculik slipped a few notches after reading Prochazkova's thinly veiled account of their relationship in "The Good New Times." There are a few sci-fi/fantasy stories in Allskin. I found Berkova's chopped, poetry-like "The Funeral" confusing and aimless but actually fitting right into editor Buchler's postmodern views. If you follow post-communist European literature at all, Allskin must have a place on your bookshelf.
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