Román pro pitomce – Balabán Lukáš (2025)

It's here. A novel provocative in every way, starting with the title and the author's name... The forty-year-old son of Jan Balabán, one of the most significant writers of Czech post-revolution literature, will surely provoke in his debut, especially since the text is full of bold references to his famous father's work. Especially when some chapters explode with irony and sarcasm, an irreconcilable heresy against the creation of false myths and comforting deities. Some people may find certain realities strikingly familiar, and it may not be pleasant. Some may find this writing cheeky, harsh, unfair, and inappropriate. And others will not engage with this text at all, because they certainly won't let themselves be made fools of. But perhaps all those comparisons, searches for archetypes, indignation, or sardonic pleasures will not completely overshadow the inner will of this book, that brave, heavy, and grotesque rebellion of a person against established patterns, assigned roles, and imposed approaches. Even if the belief in the meaning of such a rebellion may seem like the greatest foolishness. ? Petr Hruška