El's review
The Little Town Where Time Stood Still and Cutting It Short by Bohumil Hrabal
El's review
rating:
bookshelves: eastern-european-lit, late20th-centurylit
recommended for: Leah Lionheart
status: Read in September, 2008
rating:
bookshelves: eastern-european-lit, late20th-centurylit
recommended for: Leah Lionheart
status: Read in September, 2008
This book, beginning with Cutting It Short, is the story of Mary - whose long hair is of local legend - her husband, Francin - who manages the brewery in a small town - and Uncle Pepin - who comes to visit and never quite leaves again. As society changes and the town catches up to itself and as Communism enters the stage their own lives change in order to accomodate their environment, all in a Hrabal-manner of course, entertaining and sometimes disconcerting. The Little Town Where Time Stood Still makes up the second part of the book in which Mary and Francin's son tells his story. Interestingly to me is that Hrabal's own family shared the same names (Maryska, Francin, Pepin) and I wonder how much was autobiographical, without knowing that much about the author to begin with.
These were two very good stories but clearly I was not in the mood for Hrabal. I recently watched the movie version of Closely Watched Trains and again while I enjoyed it something did ...more
These were two very good stories but clearly I was not in the mood for Hrabal. I recently watched the movie version of Closely Watched Trains and again while I enjoyed it something did ...more
