Nálezy & Ztráty (2026)

This Czech-language collection shows how a single 1,800-character column can change the way we view an entire era. In his compact new book, Jan Lukeš repeatedly demonstrates his mastery of concise journalism with the weight of an essay. His columns cover a broad range of subjects while remaining focused and precise, creating remarkable space for many themes. The result is a summary of the discoveries and losses encountered during more than a quarter of a century of closely observing Czech culture and society. Originally published in a variety of media, from Lidové noviny and Literární noviny to České slovo and Reflex, the texts combine journalistic concision with the erudition of a film and literary critic, the spirit of a feuilleton with personal engagement. Jan Lukeš writes about art as a revelation of society’s condition and about a society reflected in art; in both, something essential is found and lost. The collection includes columns on order and chaos, memory, changing times, humanity’s inability to learn, intellectual failure, culture and politics, film, football, photography, neurology, death, identity, conformity, history, faith and scepticism, as well as figures including Jiří Menzel, Josef Abrhám and Karel Šiktanc. The contents are in Czech.