Josef Škvorecký (1924–2012)

The book, like many of his, is semi-autobiographical, with the inimitable Danny Smirecky, jazz-loving cynic and lothario, standing in for Skvorecky. The stories in the book are written over a period of 40 years, and are arranged to reflect the major periods in Skvorecky's life (childhood, Nazi occupation, communist rule, emigration to Canada). Although the stories are not linked by common narrative threads, when put together they clearly read as a sort of autobiography.

There is a huge range show more of quality to the stories. The ones written about his youth left me worried that Skvorecky was a writer who, while excelling in long prose, hadn't mastered the shorter form. However, as I read on, I was blown away by some of his pieces. The strange juxtaposition of frail, self-interested humanity with earth-shattering events is something he has done brilliantly in novels such as The Cowards. He does this in his short stories with equal deftness. In particular, Smiricky's search for love and sex in an imploding Czechoslavakia, and the Canadian professor's wry observations of his callow students (and himself) were every bit as well done as in his novels. Everything is shot through with a beautifully pitched sense of humour. This was another big plus in Skvorecky's win column for me, and a spur to read even more of his books. show less

This is a fine collection of inter-connected short stories by Czech writer Joseph Škvorecký. Škvorecký writes of a serious subject, describing the atmosphere in Czechoslovakia as the oppressive hand of Stalinism descends upon the country in the years immediately following World War 2. But Škvorecký tells these tales with a sly, sardonic wit and a keen eye for the absurdity of the situation, (think Kafka with a strong element of Joseph Heller), as college graduates are sent to work in show more factories, farmers sent to technical engineering school, and people begin getting arrested for very little reason. One early story illustrates the process through which a dedicated anti-Communist little by little because wholly co-opted into the new paradigm under the rationale of "saving what can be saved." The stories are all told through the eyes of a political "innocent," a tenor saxophonist who measures the changing political climate by whether or not, at any given time, his band is allowed to play bebop and blues.

Here's a sampling of Škvorecký's style in these tales, from the story "How They Got Nabbed":

"Then official lightning struck several times in rapid succession as far as jazz and bebop were concerned, and some drunk sat down on top of Paul's vibes. We barely managed to scrape up a few gigs in the few joints left tor the non-builders of socialism. I lost track of Paul. He did meet me a couple of times and tried to talk me into joining up with Nutsbellow; he enticed me with trousers made over from American offers' pinks, cartons of Chesterfields and a pornographic magazine with stereoscopic glasses that made the pictures burst right out of the page. But I was wary and chose to pretend that I was lazy and liked to sleep during the day."

The stories are short and the reading is easy, but the collection leaves you with some things to ponder. show less

The striking cover of this English translation from the late 80s drew me in as soon as I saw it at Barbed Wire Books in Longmont, and the game of the book convinced me. The structure is 10 detective short stories, each one of which breaks one of the 10 detective story “commandments” created by Ronald Arbuthnott Knox, a priest, reader and writer of detective stories in the early 20th century. The introduction tells us he hobnobbed with all the usual suspects real and fictional: He knew show more Chesterton, who wrote the Father Brown mysteries, and founded “Holmesiana” accidentally by writing an essay as if Holmes was a historical person.
But these stories actually have little to do with Father Knox, besides the ten commandments that serve as rules to the game. At a certain point in each story, a small box notifies the reader that there has been enough information to deduce not only who the murderer was, but which commandment was broken in the story, and “ab-solutions” are found at the end of the book.
Each story is in some way about the nightclub singer and accidental detective, Eve Adam. I was really impressed with the versatility of approaches, which made each story fresh. The last story was a bit of a stretch to be considered breaking its assigned commandment, but I think that was the only way to make it a surprise, since readers who followed the rest of the book know which commandment is left.
I've been missing out on mysteries, and Europe in the 70s, apparently, so I'll be looking for books with more of each in the future. show less

If Iain Sinclair wants to know how to eradicate plot but nevertheless write a novel that is at once funny, poignant, moving, funny, sad and tragic, he should put down his pen and pick up a copy of this.

The tragedy that was Czechoslovakia is portrayed intimately through a series of vignettes that covers the 20th century history of the nation and its scattered citizens around the world.

Much of the history is told through letters and memoirs, in particular the memoir of a professor of show more literature at a Candian university. Here we see the influence of autobiography (take note Sinclair) as Skvorecky’s own life permeates the pages.

These sections include his childhood growing up in Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia, village life, working in a munitions factory and his relationships with various women.

In between, we have historical sections that provide the contextual background such as the incomprehensibly awful story of the Lidice massacre.

Skvorecky tells it all with wry humour throughout. He’s an excellent story-teller, creates great characters and keeps you immersed for over 600 pages. It’s definitely one that should be more widely read.

The book is intensely political. The title refers to the the business of writers (as the phrase was first used) but also alludes of course to the way political ideologies shape lives.

Sadly however, the book doesn’t explore the influence of capitalism on people’s lives. It would have been good to have heard this alongside the impact of socialism and fascism. Nevertheless, this is an important book and one that you should seek out and read whenever you can. show less