Muž v karanténě – Vydra Petr (2021)

The book consists of closed stories, many of which were created during the pandemic and humorously reflect the various traps and challenges that the narrator, his surroundings, and society as a whole faced. Although each story has its own point and usually does not find a direct continuation in the next chapter, the book simultaneously becomes an unintentional, rather inadvertent chronicle of the year 2020 and the first half of 2021. Most of the time, however, these are proverbial small histories against the backdrop of larger ones, and rarely is it the other way around in the book. Moreover, the second section of the book contains a mix of adventures and challenges, some of which the narrator experienced earlier, but the atmosphere of these stories relates to feelings of isolation, loneliness, or stepping out of the comfort zone. The third part of the book is health-related, and the author, with his characteristic self-irony, reflects on various ailments and indispositions that come to men in middle age, which can be faced not only by visiting doctors and following their advice but also, perhaps, through humor. In addition to the fact that the individual texts were published in magazines, a few of them have also warmed up in the spotlight, as they partially overlap with monologues from stand-up performances.