Město nad městem – Brejšová Lucie (2023)

A captivating novel from exotic Brazil about the search for life's purpose. Lucie Brejšová lived for several years in São Paulo. Brazil strongly impressed her with its exoticism and natural diversity. She was fascinated by local healing practices and herbalism, which are significantly widespread due to the rich vegetation. This inspired her for part of her novel. Its main character, Marco, is a heritage architect involved in the rescue and new use of old buildings. The city above the city is the Santa Teresa neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro, where he lived until he was ten years old, before his parents divorced. He returns here after twenty years, deciding on the course of his life. The Santa Teresa neighborhood has changed significantly in that time, becoming an oasis of old colonial architecture amidst towering concrete buildings. From the local historian Francisco, he learns about his parents, how the families he knew from childhood lived, and also about the Czech roots of his great-grandfather Kopesek. And even before his trip to the Czech Republic, he falls in love with the beautiful Julia, who came from Europe to explore Brazil, giving a new direction to his life.