Hotýlek – Mornštajnová Alena (2015)

Some things seem to exist outside of time. They remain the same despite history, wars, totalitarian regimes, and even the weather. Such is the hotel of Mr. Leopold, actually more of a short-stay hotel, founded during the First Republic and offering pleasure and delight to couples during the Protectorate, and even after it was nationalized by the communists. The more straightforward love offered by the hotel rooms, the more fateful and dramatic the relationships that unfolded within the family of the owner and later the manager. After the very successful novel Blind Map, which describes the dramatic life stories of three generations of women, the author in her new book focuses primarily on the character of one: Leopold's grandson Václav Mánes, who took over the management of the business in the 1960s. Václav is a man without qualities, clear opinions, or character, which allows him to navigate the communist regime skillfully and keep the family business together, but it has a devastating impact on the relationships within the family and the lives of those who find themselves near him. Mornštajnová describes and explains Václav's actions so skillfully that only at the end of the book are we horrified by whom we have actually been rooting for all along.