Prázdniny – Staněk Tomáš (2025)

The album Prázdniny captures the main character and two months of his post-graduation vacation, during which he integrates into the graffiti scene, becomes part of a crew, and experiences adventurous, formative, and highly intense situations in the nightlife of Prague. The story describes the euphoria of freedom, the feeling of belonging to a tribe, and the adrenaline of creative criminal activity, as well as the darker sides of life on the edge – violence, drugs, and moral dilemmas that a graduate from a good family faces in the semi-world of Prague's 'scene.' The summer adventure thus increasingly becomes a story of the individual's inner struggle, relationships begin to sharpen, the atmosphere thickens, and character breaks down. Besides its psychological dimension, Prázdniny is also a loose paraphrase of Foglar's Stínadelská trilogy. The central five-member crew clashes with a rival group, behind which a menacing force of 'Vontové' is forming – represented in contemporary Prague by hooligans. Messages on the walls, nighttime fights, and chases alternate with the romance of discovering urban nooks or excursions into nature. The book captures the unique atmosphere of a collective 'without adults,' which, just like in the First Republic, forces its members to take responsibility for their actions. The entire plot takes place...