Prague: A Traveler's Literary Companion (Paperback)

~ Paul Wilson (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The city of Prague has inspired a lot of fine literature, and Paul Wilson has done the English-speaking world a vast favor by compiling this anthology of 23 Prague stories. There are classics by the likes of Franz Kafka, Jan Neruda, and Ivan Klima, and lesser-known works making their English-translation debuts. There are autobiographical pieces, fiction, legend, stories from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, tales from the Soviet regime, and contemporary pieces from the Czech Republic. Ivan Klima's epilogue is titled "The Spirit of Prague," and after reviewing Prague's history--cultural and political--he concludes that paradox is at Prague's heart, and irony and ridicule are its primary tools. Both devices are employed deftly throughout Wilson's anthology, providing clever, lyrical, and moving snippets of Prague's complex reality.

From Publishers Weekly

Novelist Ivan Klima explains in "The Spirit of Prague" that his native city has inspired people's creativity by the blending of three cultures that lived side by side for decades, even centuries: Czech, German and Jewish. It is also a city in which "the best people in the country were often imprisoned, tortured or executed." Czech writers deal with such injustices with a subversive sense of humor. It shines in Bohumil Hrabal's description of "The Hotel Pariz," Josef Skvorecky's rendition of President Clinton's sax playing at the Reduta jazz club, Egon Erwin Kisch's "The Case of the Washerwoman," and Jaroslav Hasek's sendup of The Society of Teetotalers. To see human comedy in the midst of great suffering allowed the spirit of Prague to prevail, and that is the genius of the authors presented here. These 24 stories, arranged by the areas of the city they illuminate, are a literary banquet for readers who already know and love "the city of a hundred spires." As such, they are designed, according to editor Wilson, to reveal "a deeper truth about the psyche of the people of Prague than perhaps direct description could." Also included are biographies of contributors and translators and a historical chronology of Prague.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Whereabouts Press (February 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1883513014
• ISBN-13: 978-1883513016
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #336,924 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

66 of 68 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Take This Book With You!, August 9, 2000

By	B. Withers (Milwaukee, WI USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As we prepared for our trip to Prague, I ordered this book from Amazon.com but didn't get a chance to read until we actually got there. What a treasure! Each piece made some landmark or moment of history come more vividly alive than any of the standard guidebooks could possibly provide. The division of the book into corresponding areas of the city was a great idea.I always look to literature to gain insight into travel destinations. No single book has ever done a better job than this one.

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, June 21, 2003

By	Goner (NYC) - See all my reviews

Excellent collection of pieces from obscure writers and celebrated Czech authors. The book is divided into sections for each part of the city (Old Town, Mala Strana, etc.). I've lived in Prague before and it was so much fun following each author around the city again. I recommend this book for anyone enchanted by the idea of Prague or for those who miss it and want to spend some time there with a bunch of amazing tour guides.