Paci, paci, pacičky – Bauman Václav (2017)

Paci, paci, pacičky = wonderfully narrated years under the dog. There are quite a few more or less autobiographical prose works in our literature that look back, more or less satirically or nostalgically, at the time before November 1989. Nevertheless, Bauman's ironic Paci, paci, pacičky stands out significantly from this imaginary series: primarily due to its narrative style, which recalls both childlike and adult (in the case of a boy who is variously abused and does not hold back, thus more adult) studies, as well as the storytelling of Hrabal's characters, with their haste, spontaneity, and ease. It is also exceptional for its shockingly open interpretation of inner and intimate life. The central hero has a terrible childhood, a Stalinist father in every sense, i.e., even on the "home front," and only over time does he break free from the limits of family and era, bringing forth a remarkable image of his own maturation and coming out in significantly illiberal times. You will laugh out loud over Bauman's book, even though its world is somewhat beautifully sad. If the second edition is being published nearly thirty years after the first, it is because, even in the context of contemporary literary production, it remains a phenomenon that has lost none of its...