Book: Prague Tales
Author: Jan Neruda
Country: Czech Republic
Review: 3/5
The Czech Republic was the last foreign country I got to visit before the pandemic, and I loved every moment, and the wanderlust I felt after this trip was one of the inspirations for this challenge. During my time in Prague, I found a great resource through the YouTube channel @realhonestguide (definitely check them out for funny and honest travel content!)I reached out to Janek and Honza for their suggestions for books from their country (thank you!), one being the author Jan Neruda. Prague Tales is a series of vignettes that shows the lives of people living in the Little Quarter in 19th century Prague. Jan Neruda was born in 1834 Prague (when it was a part of Bohemia) and was a Czech journalist, writer, poet, and art critic. His poetry and philosophy backgrounds contributed a great deal to this novel. Through his life and his work, Neruda supported Czech nationalism, and through his stories told the everyday life of the people of the Little Quarter. Neruda’s grave is located on the grounds of Vyšehrad Castle, the final resting place of many composers, artists, sculptors, writers, and those from the world of science and politics. (Credit: Wikipedia)
The book itself lends a very personal view into Prague in the 1800s. In many ways, the writing and the format of the book reminded me of Dubliners by James Joyce. It was quite satirical, a little more than I enjoy and I would have preferred if each story connected in more elements. That said, I noticed many poetic components throughout, leading to some beautiful passages. “Neruda Street is not only the most beauftiuful street in Prague; it has every reason to bear our author’s name. The entire district of Malá Strana – indeed, all Prague, or rather, its shape and histoy in the not so distant past, the spirit of the place – comes down to us largely through Neruda’s words and imagery.” (from the introduction by Ivan Klíma.) Reading this took a bit more time that most books this size with denser writing/topics using older (and translated) writing. I absolutely loved the imagery of the first story, A Week in a Quiet House, that started with the description of a clock in a darkened room. I also enjoyed the one called Mr Ryšánek and Mr Schlegel, I feel that the relationship between these two characters is one that many of us have been in or witness to, and it quite different than most covered in literary pieces. I think this is one of those books that you may grow to appreciate more and more on further reads. Definitely recommend most for people with some patience and appreciation for historical fiction, overall I enjoyed it.
Stay tuned for other book recommendations for this country and other countries, and follow my journey on Instagram @beyondpageone and find more reviews on my GoodReads page: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/116494925-kaitlyn-nightingale Thank you and happy reading!
Feature image from Goodreads.