Heaven Has No Ground

by Hana Andronikova, Roman Kostovski (Translation)

Hana Andronikova's second, and unfortunately last novel, was published nine years after the success of her first book The Sound of the Sundial. Andronikova herself admitted that in Heaven Has No Ground, the character of Ama, a self-proclaimed "bio-gal" and "alter-nativist" is somewhat autobiographical as she tries come to terms with the death of her father and with her own cruel diagnosis of breast cancer. Through this intimate story Ama records her battle with the terrible disease. But it is not one that takes place in a hospital bed, but rather on journey with a backpack that leads to the shamans of the Amazon jungle in Peru, to the native Americans of the Nevada Desert, and then finally to the Middle East. Andronikova doesn't shy way from expressing that feeling of raw anxiety upon her return home when she ultimately faces the decision to accept modern medical treatment or not. But the book is much more than a young woman's battle with cancer, it is a witty and colorful narrative of searching for oneself and accepting one's fate. Andronikova does this with a unique style filled with raspy metaphors, a melody of language, and with an a associative string of playful words that borders surrealism.

290 pages, ebook

Published March 22, 2022

About the author

Hana Andronikova byla česká spisovatelka.

Vystudovala gymnázium ve Zlíně, pak Filozofickou fakultu Univerzity Karlovy v Praze, obory angličtina a čeština. Po ukončení studia pracovala jako personální manažerka v zahraničních i českých firmách. V roce 1999 odešla z podnikatelské sféry a věnovala se literatuře.

Autorčin debut Zvuk slunečních hodin získal v roce 2001 Literární cenu Knižního klubu a v roce 2002 cenu Magnesia Litera v kategorii objev roku. V březnu 2008 plánovala vydat nový román s pracovním názvem Blues v nakladatelství Odeon. Nakonec v roce 2010 vydala knihu Nebe nemá dno a v roce 2011 za tuto knihu obdržela Cenu čtenářů Magnesia Litera 2011.

Napsala divadelní hry Tanec přes plot (2008, spolu s Janou Svobodovou), Pakosti a drabanti (2010) a Šašci, špioni a prezidenti (2010).

Dne 20. prosince 2011 podlehla rakovině.