Malý vůz – Dostál Zeno (2022)

The posthumously published novel by writer Zeno Dostál (1934–1996) was created at the turn of epochs: it was offered for proofreading to the Československý spisovatel publishing house before 1989, prepared for publication after the Velvet Revolution, and rather coincidentally remained unpublished after the demise of the prestigious Československý spisovatel publishing house. It is still a readable novel, set in the transition from the 1950s to the 1960s, which follows the maturation of the young anti-hero Miloň Pluháček. Although he comes from a peasant background and has Catholic roots, he becomes a product of the socialist machinery: re-education in the army, which can be compared to the tragicomic literary testimonies of Josef Škvorecký or Karel Pecka, and post-war wandering on a socialist work brigade – a construction site in Ostrava. Miloň is definitely more interested in erotic adventures than in building and ideological indoctrination, at least until he falls in love with the daughter... paradoxically of elite cadres... Will Miloň remain Miloň, or will he take the path of pragmatic collaboration? In this, the novel is a timeless generational testimony and is worth publishing even after more than thirty years. – Published with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic.