Pláňata – Dvořáková Petra (2023)

A coming-of-age novel set in a transformative time. An ordinary family, an ordinary village. Two school-aged daughters, parents with ordinary professions. Also grandparents, all somewhat cramped in a patched-up, but otherwise completely ordinary house. And around them, equally ordinary, motionless time. But appearances can be deceiving. The moment is quietly approaching when the old regime is ripening towards a sudden collapse. Pavlína, the central narrator of this polyphonic prose, shares her parents' euphoric illusions of a different, better life with her childlike heart and projects them onto the clean walls of her secret wishes and desires. These, however, concern not only the sensed freedom and its temptations but also relationships. Especially as the girl gradually begins to perceive that her family, in which "everyone means well with each other," is like a plain overgrown with bushes of misunderstanding, complexes, and sometimes even aggression. The desire to snatch a piece of happiness for oneself and the resulting temptation to wield power is stronger than the demanding path of respect and empathy. It seems as if a great black nightmare is settling over the world around and within. Pavlína is no longer a schoolgirl, but she still struggles to step into adult life without constant stumbling. Can a person really change and leave their small world behind? Will the weight disappear with merciful darkness? Or conversely, with the arrival of something greater...