Sobělživci – Rezek Aleš (2021)

The novel Sobělživci, through the voices of its main heroines, initially reveals the inner lives of former classmates and great friends during a time when most young people prioritize friendship above all else. This is also true for the multi-talented Zuzana, who naively strives to fulfill that almost childlike romantic vision of being one body and one soul with her lifelong friend Lenka. However, while the humble and naive Zuzana constantly seeks meaningful relationships, the pragmatic Lenka, on the contrary, exploits and even abuses all her relationships. Through a cyclically alternating narrative, we glimpse the years of adolescence for both heroines, dealing with their parents and their often incomprehensible demands, as well as in a diverse community of friends, with first loves. At the same time, through their fates, we return to the turn of the 1980s and 1990s with everything characteristic of that time – primarily the enormous, almost uncritical enthusiasm for newfound freedom with a vision of endless possibilities. The sobering up, even a kind of hangover, was inevitable. Zuzana and Lenka's paths diverge at that time, only to meet again under very special circumstances; here the story culminates in a small detective plot that adds depth to the characters of most of the story's figures.