Bez břehu – Burda Aleš (2025)

In his previous life, Jáchym committed many wrongs. To escape the consequences of his actions and the punishment he deserved, he ended his life prematurely by jumping from a famous bridge used by suicides. Although he escaped earthly justice, a higher justice called him into its service, at least giving him the chance to make amends for his past deeds. One day, he surprisingly wakes up alive and well on a lonely park bench, only to learn that… This surrealist, Dada-inspired fantasy follows the protagonist’s determined efforts to save chronic unfortunates, losers and other people on the margins of mainstream society. They do their best to get through life, but there is still room for a certain intervention from above. This is where the central character appears as an incognito guardian angel, equipped with a whole range of skills, talent and guileless dedication. He throws himself headlong into the productivity, and ultimately counterproductivity, of his new assignment. A warning to sensitive readers: the direct speech of the protagonist and other characters contains a high concentration of vulgar language. The story takes place in a plebeian underground environment, far removed from respectable mainstream society, bourgeois circles, cellars filled with valuable vintage wines and garages containing polished trend-conscious vehicles of every kind. The author’s language does not arise from depravity or perversion, but rather from his fondness for the charm of the twisted. He invites every seasoned reader with a taste for deranged imaginings to enter these original noir fantasies, where love and truth fight for their rights, but nothing comes free. The book is in Czech.