BooksWe love books. Tell us about your favourite books and authors, and why they are so good. And while you're at it - having dined out for years on the time I threw Dan Brown out of a train window - tell us who to avoid.
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Scaryduck LIKES EGG, Thu 5 Jan 2012, 13:40)
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Bohumil Hrabala Czech author who wrote quite wry, often funny novels under Communism and (which will hopefully encourage you to give him a go) tended to write very short books.
Closely Observed Trains is my favourite. It's set in a small village in German occupied territory in the final days of the Second World War, and follows the life of the young, sensitive local lad working in the train station. Not to give too much away, but in about 100 pages you get a great story, lots of humour, and a fair bit of tragedy.
There's also a lovely film of it made by Jiri Menzel in 1969.
If you like that, check out Too Loud a Solitude, which is equally short and follows the life of a recycling operative in Communist Czechoslovakia who becomes obsessed with forbidden books.
(, Thu 5 Jan 2012, 22:15, 2 replies)
I czezh friend gave me 'the good soldier svejk' as a gift.I laughed heartedly all the way through... and learned a lot about the war.
(, Thu 5 Jan 2012, 22:21, closed)
I liked that too(, Thu 5 Jan 2012, 22:49, closed)
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