Povídky smíchovské – Rejfová Marie (2023)

A BRILLIANT LITERARY TRIBUTE TO THE GIANTS OF CZECH LITERATURE JAN NERUDA AND JAKUB ARBES… The Smíchov suburb at the beginning of the twentieth century is slowly becoming an important part of the future Greater Prague, emerging from the industrial corner by the left bank of the Vltava River. The city pulses with everyday life, while the hidden places in dark alleys, workshops, and balconies tell their own stories. Who hides beneath the pumps of the Petržilkov Waterworks? What secret does the grave in Malvazinky reveal? Will the murderer from Kinský Gardens pause before committing another act? The reader will glimpse the life of a stonemason and students from the Prague Polytechnic, encountering medical students at the autopsy table and in lectures. In another story, they will enter the dusty world of an old Jewish lady and her memories, only to spend several days with a mysterious baker and a pair of old maids. Elsewhere, a tormented assistant or a pretty but frivolous maid will guide them through Smíchov. Against the backdrop of six Smíchov arabesques, the fate of eight-year-old Růženka Horká unfolds as she meets a mysterious magician. Who is this man and why do all the threads of the individual stories converge with him?