Hodiny z olova – Denemarková Radka (2019)

A sprawling novel inspired by the author's stays in China. The fate of several families from different generations, European countries, and social classes is impacted by the same decisive sentence. A Czech businessman, his wife and teenage daughter, a Russian diplomat, a French writer, a calligraphy student, a chef, and a number of other heroes. Their family traumas, midlife crises, burnout, or puberty. Pilgrims and travelers who went to China to sort out their lives, but their world continues to fall apart. They are losing something irretrievably and cannot comprehend it themselves. They search for a solid point in their past life, but they do not know what to remember. Just as in their private stories, a dramatic turning point occurs, something essential breaks and changes in all our destinies. The old world of Europe is ending, and no one knows what is beginning. And just as each character in the novel experiences a critical situation as an existential and personal experience, we all collectively experience the 'hour of lead.' People withdraw into themselves, and an era of resigned apathy, demoralization, and a gray totalitarian consumerist everyday life begins. But there is still action. It is just important to watch for signs.