Lidé z maringotek – Bass Eduard (2021)

This collection of short stories was first published in 1942 and is also the author's last work of fiction. Eduard Bass wrote it in the oppressive atmosphere of occupation, having been stripped of his editorial position at Lidové noviny and dedicating himself solely to writing. After the enormous reader response to his novel chronicle Circus Humberto, he returned to the circus environment in this tightly woven and stylistically refined frame novella, where the male participants of the feast, united by their love for the circus, tell colorful stories with romantic themes. Love appears in various forms, whether passionate, tragic, faithful, selfless, or based on romantic illusion. Bass was intimately familiar with the atmosphere of the ring and variety (the beginnings of his career are linked to the famous Prague cabaret Červená sedma, where he worked as a master of ceremonies and satirist), and as an experienced and versatile journalist, he had a sense of situational and linguistic comedy as well as the ability to master the color of various linguistic styles and jargons. It must be said that the form of small prose pieces suited Bass better than the novel composition. Each character has their own distinctive narrative style and perspective on the fateful moments of human life. Through them...