A Kingdom of Souls - Book Review
A Kingdom of Souls by Daniela Hodrová, translated by Véronique Firkusny and Elena Sokol. Jantar Publishing, 2015, 200 pages.
Literary fiction from the Ruritanian lands has many literate and generous reviewers. Among the most famous, literate and widely read online is Michael Orthofer who recently published his own thoughts on Daniela's first novel, A Kingdom of Souls. His review is so compelling that it is very difficult to improve upon his opening paragraphs. I use purple on purpose:
A Kingdom of Souls is the first in a Prague-trilogy, the novel
itself dated: "December 1977-October1978, June 1984" but only published
after the fall of the Communist regime.
Its prime locale and vista is the Olšany cemetery -- or at least a
building opposite it, specifically a fifth floor apartment -- but even
as much of the action is focused here it is a sweeping novel of Prague,
and the modern Czech experience, since the Nazi occupation.
It begins with one character dead(-but-not-entirely-departed), a
presence in the pantry of that fifth floor apartment -- and he is soon
joined by others, the small chamber eventually getting quite crowded.
In a A Kingdom of Souls death isn't a complete release, and the dead figure just as much as the living.
There are several prominent characters in this novel of criss-crossing stories, but the central one is young Alice Davidović, longing and waiting for her beloved, Pavel Santner. But as the novel opens Pavel Santner had left with a transport two weeks earlier, and the possibility of their reunion seems slight; Alice never entirely gives up hope -- and yet also does so almost immediately, in shocking fashion. It is the time of the Second World War; Alice's family is Jewish; they too "were to join a transport" .....
Hodrová's novel is one of history, and characters whose stories are not fixed and definitive, not absolute (so also in the dead continuing to be very real presences, even if on an entirely different plane). As she writes at one point in the narrative:
The novel was also reviewed very positively by the Times Literary Supplement and its gradual but positive beautiful impact on the English literary perception of Prague is noted with great happiness by the author and publisher. I began quoting Michael Orthofer and will now end with his his summary:
A Kingdom of Souls is a dark and elusive novel, but it is also seductive. Hodrová's precise expression (in this fine translation) and unexpected perspectives make for an impressively disturbing, compelling text.
There are several prominent characters in this novel of criss-crossing stories, but the central one is young Alice Davidović, longing and waiting for her beloved, Pavel Santner. But as the novel opens Pavel Santner had left with a transport two weeks earlier, and the possibility of their reunion seems slight; Alice never entirely gives up hope -- and yet also does so almost immediately, in shocking fashion. It is the time of the Second World War; Alice's family is Jewish; they too "were to join a transport" .....
Hodrová's novel is one of history, and characters whose stories are not fixed and definitive, not absolute (so also in the dead continuing to be very real presences, even if on an entirely different plane). As she writes at one point in the narrative:
That's how it happened, but perhaps it happened somewhat differently.Alice is a character of Greek epic proportions both tragic and comic. She "leaves" in the opening paragraph but remains observing and participating, not only in this novel and the remaining two in the trilogy, but Daniela's entire literary output of ten novels to date. Her voice is given particular resonance when read aloud by one of her translators, Véronique Firkusny as she did on Radio Prague last year. In fact, the whole interview is fabulously interesting and possibly even more compelling that Orthofer's languid prose.
The novel was also reviewed very positively by the Times Literary Supplement and its gradual but positive beautiful impact on the English literary perception of Prague is noted with great happiness by the author and publisher. I began quoting Michael Orthofer and will now end with his his summary:
A Kingdom of Souls is a dark and elusive novel, but it is also seductive. Hodrová's precise expression (in this fine translation) and unexpected perspectives make for an impressively disturbing, compelling text.
