Vyšehradští jezdci – Beran Stanislav (2016)

A dramatic story from the 1950s as interpreted by a young Czech prose writer. What could an anti-Nazi resistance fighter from the group Three Kings, a seventeen-year-old member of a Prague street gang sentenced for 'anti-state activities' to uranium mines, and a poet longing for fame have in common? Perhaps more than the city and time in which their fates intersected. Shortly after the Victorious February, the regime also turned its attention to so-called small fish. Alongside political opposition, priests, and soldiers from the western front, even insignificant petty thieves, jazz enthusiasts, and admirers of Western fashion, labeled 'trappers' in contemporary propaganda, ended up in labor camps. In June 1953, members of the gang Vyšehrad Riders were arrested, and a trial soon followed. Harsh sentences were meant to serve as a warning to other pro-Western youth. However, the exaggeration of their 'anti-state activities' in the media had the opposite effect. The Vyšehrad Riders became a legend, though they have since faded into obscurity. The backbone of the novel is the space of Prague. Its places and characters that you won't find in any tourist guide. Through the dark veil of social reality, Beran's heroes try to find at least a slightly non-conformist way of life. However, they will pay a cruel price for a few sips of freedom...