Customer Reviews

Prague Tales (Central European Classics)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Neruda (the original one, from whom Pablo took his nom-de-plume) is an astounding writer. His "tales" all take place on the street that he grew up on, and they're funny/sad/touching and highly evocative. The sense of place is strong, and wonderful, and I felt reading it that I too was a nineteenth century resident of this small commnity in Prague. Whether it's a middle-aged man smitten with a pretty young neighbor, or a little boy hiding in the cathedral so he can see the ghost of Saint Vitus who supposedly says mass every midnight at his shrine, Neruda gives us people at once foreign and familiar. In a very different way, his tales remind me of Sarah Ann Jewitt's stories of life in a 19th century New England town. They share the ability to depict their communities with a quiet, intimate passion devoid of sentimentality yet full of love.

I have read this book in Czech and it's great, unfortunately, the translation is really bad. It almost feels like someone sat down with a dictionary and just looked up all the words. This really doesn't work when you are going from Czech to English. The structure of sentences is often all wrong. It is gathering dust on my shelf and I have only read about ten pages.

I really enjoyed reading this book. For me Prague is an amazing and beautiful place. Reading this book makes me feel like I'm right back in the city again. I also like the fact that the book is fairly upbeat and easy to read. I definitely recommend reading this book over a Pivo in a Pivovar in Mala Stana.

Great book about an interesting city. I got it whilst I was studying at Charles University. This book gives a great look into the lives of Praguers. If you are like Eastern/ Central European history you should read this book.