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Obchod na korze
Obchod na korze sa preslávil najmä vďaka filmu Jána Kadára a Elmara Klosa, ktorý v roku 1966 získal Oscara. Ladislav Grosman napísal pôvodne krátku poviedku s názvom Pasca v slovenčine, neskôr ju rozšíril a prepísal v češtine.
Príbeh stolára Tóna Brtka a pani Lautmanovej, majiteľky obchodu s gombíkmi, sa rozvíja počas druhej svetovej vojny. Oboch obyvateľov malého mesta slovenského štátu spoja udalosti veľkých dejín. Tóno, obyčajný človek, čo nijako nesympatizuje s ľudáckym režimom, nedobrovoľne arizuje, pani Lautmanová nedobrovoľne zotrváva na mieste, ktoré jej poskytuje neisté útočisko. Keď nastane rozhodujúca chvíľa a všetci židovskí mešťania sa majú prihlásiť do transportu, vzťah neprejde najťažšou skúškou.
Slovenský preklad Obchodu na korze vychádza krátko po stom výročí narodenia Ladislava Grosmana. Novelu dopĺňa text Georgea Grosmana, autorovho syna, ktorý približuje otcov pohnutý osud. Štúdiu, ktorá analyzuje dielo v dobovom kontexte, prepája predlohu s filmovým spracovaním a oboznamuje čitateľa s – podobne dramatickými – životnými príbehmi zúčastnených hercov aj filmárov, napísala historička Michala Lônčíková.
Príbeh stolára Tóna Brtka a pani Lautmanovej, majiteľky obchodu s gombíkmi, sa rozvíja počas druhej svetovej vojny. Oboch obyvateľov malého mesta slovenského štátu spoja udalosti veľkých dejín. Tóno, obyčajný človek, čo nijako nesympatizuje s ľudáckym režimom, nedobrovoľne arizuje, pani Lautmanová nedobrovoľne zotrváva na mieste, ktoré jej poskytuje neisté útočisko. Keď nastane rozhodujúca chvíľa a všetci židovskí mešťania sa majú prihlásiť do transportu, vzťah neprejde najťažšou skúškou.
Slovenský preklad Obchodu na korze vychádza krátko po stom výročí narodenia Ladislava Grosmana. Novelu dopĺňa text Georgea Grosmana, autorovho syna, ktorý približuje otcov pohnutý osud. Štúdiu, ktorá analyzuje dielo v dobovom kontexte, prepája predlohu s filmovým spracovaním a oboznamuje čitateľa s – podobne dramatickými – životnými príbehmi zúčastnených hercov aj filmárov, napísala historička Michala Lônčíková.
168 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1965
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April 17, 2025
The story is placed in the time of WWII, in a former Czechoslovak town occupied by nazi, when Jewish people started to be deported. Anton 'Tono' Brtko is a carpenter who was offered the possibility to take over a shop of a Jewish widow, Rosalie Lautman, as a part of the policy of 'aryanization' of properties and businesses owned by Jewish people from the city.
Tono has mixed feelings about what is happening, becoming overwhelmed, not being able to understand properly the times he lives in. He tries to act in such a way to be on the good side of authorities, but in the same time to save old Rosalie from deportation.
The problem is that Tono hesitates too much to officially chose a side, time is not his friend and in the end, when he urgently has to do something, things take a strange turn and there is very few left to be saved.
Tono has mixed feelings about what is happening, becoming overwhelmed, not being able to understand properly the times he lives in. He tries to act in such a way to be on the good side of authorities, but in the same time to save old Rosalie from deportation.
The problem is that Tono hesitates too much to officially chose a side, time is not his friend and in the end, when he urgently has to do something, things take a strange turn and there is very few left to be saved.
December 3, 2017
Povinne!
October 20, 2024
Samotný príbeh nie je až taký dlhý, ale je doplnený o predslov autorovho syna, a zhrnutie knihy a filmu od historičky.
December 29, 2025
Naoko jednostavna i kratka, a ipak upozoravajuća priča o onima "kojih se politika ne tiče" i koji su ravnodušni prema zbivanjima u svojoj okolini.
"Gospodine Brtko, ništa u životu ne razumijem, ali jedno znam sigurno: ondje gdje moćnici naude poštenom narodu, ondje je amen. Ondje prije ili poslije dođu svi na red, čak i oni koji su te zakone izmislili."
"Gospodine Brtko, ništa u životu ne razumijem, ali jedno znam sigurno: ondje gdje moćnici naude poštenom narodu, ondje je amen. Ondje prije ili poslije dođu svi na red, čak i oni koji su te zakone izmislili."
December 7, 2022
6,5/10
July 28, 2017
Že ty nejtěžší boje svádí lidé, jež se nestali zvířaty, a to v sobě, představuje příběh Tona Brtka, který v malém městě Slovenského štátu nedobrovolně arizuje obchod staré vdovy Lautmannové. Psychické peklo svádí sám se sebou, když si připisuje zodpovědnost nad židovčiným životem – avšak jeho činy řídí strach. A tak silný svazek dvou lidí končí tragicky - především však devastací hrdosti člověka a jeho ponížením sama před sebou – efekt systému, který ke dnu samotného zla táhne i ty dobré. Který staví na strachu, jenž je hlavní zbraní proti člověku.
Obchod na korze je ztělesněním morálního dilematu, hořkou sondou do nitra Slovenska i ostrou výčitkou.
"Že Slovákovi židovský živel ohrožoval život, o tom není třeba nikoho přesvědčovat (…) Bylo by to vypadalo ještě hůř, kdybychom se nebyli od nich včas očistili. A udělali jsme to podle příkazu Božího: Slováku, shoď, zbav se svého škůdce."
Tiso ve veřejném projevu v holiči 16. srpna 1942
Obchod na korze je ztělesněním morálního dilematu, hořkou sondou do nitra Slovenska i ostrou výčitkou.
"Že Slovákovi židovský živel ohrožoval život, o tom není třeba nikoho přesvědčovat (…) Bylo by to vypadalo ještě hůř, kdybychom se nebyli od nich včas očistili. A udělali jsme to podle příkazu Božího: Slováku, shoď, zbav se svého škůdce."
Tiso ve veřejném projevu v holiči 16. srpna 1942
February 17, 2018
Že já si s tou druhou světovou v literatuře nedám pokoj. Zlo to bylo, zlo.
January 12, 2023
Som asi posledný, čo nevidel film, hoci príbeh som v hrubých rysoch poznal.
Očakával som román, dostal som celkom hutnú novelu, ktorá na krátkom priestore výborne vykreslila charakter hlavných postáv. Odohráva sa síce na pozadí prenasledovania a odsunu Židov počas Slovenského štátu, ale príbeh samotný sa zameriava najmä na tragickú epizódu niekoľkých bežných ľudí, ktorí by mohli byť aj našimi susedmi.
K vydaniu napísal predslov syn autora George Grosman, ale do pozornosti dávam najmä výborný doslov historičky Michaly Lônčíkovej.
Očakával som román, dostal som celkom hutnú novelu, ktorá na krátkom priestore výborne vykreslila charakter hlavných postáv. Odohráva sa síce na pozadí prenasledovania a odsunu Židov počas Slovenského štátu, ale príbeh samotný sa zameriava najmä na tragickú epizódu niekoľkých bežných ľudí, ktorí by mohli byť aj našimi susedmi.
K vydaniu napísal predslov syn autora George Grosman, ale do pozornosti dávam najmä výborný doslov historičky Michaly Lônčíkovej.
July 28, 2025
Kniha, ktorá zobrazuje dobu, na ktorú by sme nikdy nemali zabúdať a nie to ešte ju vychvaľovať. Odporúčam každému kto chce prežiť chvíle v živote dobrého človeka, ktorý sa stal núteným arizátorom a balansuje s obavami o život nie len svoj ale aj svojich blízkych.
August 25, 2025
The Shop on Main Street by Ladislav Grossman
Another version of this note and thoughts on other books are available at:
- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list... and http://realini.blogspot.ro/
This note is about the adaptation and not the original story.
However, Ladislav Grossman is also the screenwriter and I can only assume that he was as faithful as possible to his own original narrative.
The film is a masterpiece and logically so is the original material.
The shop on Main Street has won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and many other prestigious awards.
The story takes place in a Slovak small town, in 1942, during the German occupation of what was then Czechoslovakia.
There are two main characters and one is Antony Brcko or Krcko as his friend calls him, because she does not hear very well.
The other is Rosalie Lautmann and she owns the Shop on Main Street, for as long as the Nazi stooges allow it.
Mark is the brother-in-law of the hero and he is an evil beneficiary of the Fascist occupation, as a local leader.
He is bringing food and drinks one night, together with an official order that The Shop on Main Street is taken over by Tony Brcko.
During the feast of that night, Tony gets drunk and –in vino veritas- he mocks the Fuher with a fake moustache:
- Sieg heil and other salutations are used to mock the crazy dictator
Otherwise, when walking on Main Street with his relative, Tony is embarrassed and funny when he avoids making the fascist salute.
Indeed, it is exceptionally difficult to create a tragicomedy that blends so well fine humor with the horrors of that war.
Tony presents himself at the shop, in his best attire and ready to take charge and benefit from the business.
The complexity of this personage is fascinating, for he has within him the kindness and generosity of a good man, together with the meanness, cowardice and pettiness that we can all show, especially in moments of extreme duress.
In the classic Influence by Robert Cialdini, the principle of Respect for Authority explains the attitude of the common German and the people in countries they occupied, at least in an important degree, justifying somewhat the passivity.
Tony Brcko is changing gradually from the demanding man, sent as an Aryan to take responsibility for a Jewish shop to a more submissive, docile attitude of an assistant who does not really know where anything is.
He grows fond of his “business partner” who does not hear very well, but who is very kind in her turn to her helper.
She gives him her late husband’s clothes, that suit the carpenter very well and who in his turn starts fixing the furniture of Rosalie Lautmann.
On the darker side, Tony is very interested in the money that he can have from the Jewish Community.
In one of his lowest moments, when he finds that things have reached a nadir and the Jewish people are deported, instead of showing only compassion, the protagonist still thinks of himself, which we may all do in similar circumstances:
- I was thinking that next Wednesday…our arrangement…
- This is the end of all that, responds Katz, the barber
Nevertheless, Tony is the only one in his family that is not selfish and ready to take advantage and become rich.
Apart from his aforementioned brother-in-law, his own spouse is pressing for the gold, which is just a chimera and all the illicit benefits that are surely there in the shop, the walls, the floors, certainly hidden somewhere.
Angry with all these demands, the protagonist starts slapping his wife and he would not stop after a few blows, but keeps hitting with “furious anger” and this has reminded me of the famous Bible quote from Pulp Fiction:
“Ezekiel 25:17.”The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of the darkness. For he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know I am the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon you."
Wondrous chef d’oeuvre
Another version of this note and thoughts on other books are available at:
- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list... and http://realini.blogspot.ro/
This note is about the adaptation and not the original story.
However, Ladislav Grossman is also the screenwriter and I can only assume that he was as faithful as possible to his own original narrative.
The film is a masterpiece and logically so is the original material.
The shop on Main Street has won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and many other prestigious awards.
The story takes place in a Slovak small town, in 1942, during the German occupation of what was then Czechoslovakia.
There are two main characters and one is Antony Brcko or Krcko as his friend calls him, because she does not hear very well.
The other is Rosalie Lautmann and she owns the Shop on Main Street, for as long as the Nazi stooges allow it.
Mark is the brother-in-law of the hero and he is an evil beneficiary of the Fascist occupation, as a local leader.
He is bringing food and drinks one night, together with an official order that The Shop on Main Street is taken over by Tony Brcko.
During the feast of that night, Tony gets drunk and –in vino veritas- he mocks the Fuher with a fake moustache:
- Sieg heil and other salutations are used to mock the crazy dictator
Otherwise, when walking on Main Street with his relative, Tony is embarrassed and funny when he avoids making the fascist salute.
Indeed, it is exceptionally difficult to create a tragicomedy that blends so well fine humor with the horrors of that war.
Tony presents himself at the shop, in his best attire and ready to take charge and benefit from the business.
The complexity of this personage is fascinating, for he has within him the kindness and generosity of a good man, together with the meanness, cowardice and pettiness that we can all show, especially in moments of extreme duress.
In the classic Influence by Robert Cialdini, the principle of Respect for Authority explains the attitude of the common German and the people in countries they occupied, at least in an important degree, justifying somewhat the passivity.
Tony Brcko is changing gradually from the demanding man, sent as an Aryan to take responsibility for a Jewish shop to a more submissive, docile attitude of an assistant who does not really know where anything is.
He grows fond of his “business partner” who does not hear very well, but who is very kind in her turn to her helper.
She gives him her late husband’s clothes, that suit the carpenter very well and who in his turn starts fixing the furniture of Rosalie Lautmann.
On the darker side, Tony is very interested in the money that he can have from the Jewish Community.
In one of his lowest moments, when he finds that things have reached a nadir and the Jewish people are deported, instead of showing only compassion, the protagonist still thinks of himself, which we may all do in similar circumstances:
- I was thinking that next Wednesday…our arrangement…
- This is the end of all that, responds Katz, the barber
Nevertheless, Tony is the only one in his family that is not selfish and ready to take advantage and become rich.
Apart from his aforementioned brother-in-law, his own spouse is pressing for the gold, which is just a chimera and all the illicit benefits that are surely there in the shop, the walls, the floors, certainly hidden somewhere.
Angry with all these demands, the protagonist starts slapping his wife and he would not stop after a few blows, but keeps hitting with “furious anger” and this has reminded me of the famous Bible quote from Pulp Fiction:
“Ezekiel 25:17.”The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of the darkness. For he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know I am the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon you."
Wondrous chef d’oeuvre
August 25, 2019
The story of this short book takes place in a small town in Czechoslovakia, in which a poor carpenter (Brkto) is given ownership of an elderly Jewish woman's shop under the auspices of "Aryanization." The shop is a "gift" from Brkto's brother-in-law and it isn't much of a gift in that the store doesn't make money and the woman (Mrs. Lautman) is deaf and doesn't understand that she has lost ownerhip of her store. The Nazis have invaded Czechoslovakia and the war is on and it is a danger to be Jewish or to fraternize with Jews. It's a risk for him, when Brkto takes pity on Mrs. Lautman and begins to repair her old furniture which can land him in jail.
A few weeks after Brjto takes ownership of the shop, there is a call for all Jews to amass in the town square. They have to register and are to be transported to camps. Brkto has a terrible conflict - if he helps to hide Mrs. Launman they might both be killed.
The author's writing style is excellent - he with limited description, he captures characters externally and internally - their conflicts and values. And he captures the fears and paranoia of the times.
A few weeks after Brjto takes ownership of the shop, there is a call for all Jews to amass in the town square. They have to register and are to be transported to camps. Brkto has a terrible conflict - if he helps to hide Mrs. Launman they might both be killed.
The author's writing style is excellent - he with limited description, he captures characters externally and internally - their conflicts and values. And he captures the fears and paranoia of the times.
June 4, 2024
Judging the literary value of a book like The Shop on Main Street, when it is read in translation, is always difficult. What is easier to discern, however, is the historical and psychological value of such a book.
Books likeThe Shop on Main Street show—without romance or revisionism—how an event like the Holocaust played out for most "regular" people in typical towns. Monsters come home and dote on their wives, taking them out to picnics and showering them with gifts. Good people commit acts of unimaginable evil, not because they are evil but because they are afraid. Begin and banal citizens, who compose a probable majority, make catastrophic ethical decisions based on the prospect of better rations or a possible promotion. Life and death depends on perhaps a single, emotional mistake. Hannah Arendt is well known for her concept of the “banality of evil”; a book like Grosman's inverts her formula. The Shop on Main Street is a book about the evil of the banal.
Books likeThe Shop on Main Street show—without romance or revisionism—how an event like the Holocaust played out for most "regular" people in typical towns. Monsters come home and dote on their wives, taking them out to picnics and showering them with gifts. Good people commit acts of unimaginable evil, not because they are evil but because they are afraid. Begin and banal citizens, who compose a probable majority, make catastrophic ethical decisions based on the prospect of better rations or a possible promotion. Life and death depends on perhaps a single, emotional mistake. Hannah Arendt is well known for her concept of the “banality of evil”; a book like Grosman's inverts her formula. The Shop on Main Street is a book about the evil of the banal.
September 7, 2021
Tr. Iris Urwin Lewitova. This is very much in the style of other twentieth century Czech/Slovak writers that I have read over the years that have a fairly comic story with a profusion of bumbling characters and a very dark underbelly. In this case we see the fate of Slovakia’s Jews during the Second World War, beginning with the appropriation of their businesses in the name of ‘aryanisation’. The story actually didn’t take the direction that I was expecting at all but it is still a poignant story of a carpenter who is given control of a Jewish business and who, for various reasons and against his better judgement, is not able to turn the ‘opportunity’ down. A short read, full of questions of morality, that opened up an aspect of Nazi occupation that I have not particularly seen explored in detail before.
January 16, 2019
Tak tahle kniha se do vás zapíše. Není to o válce, je to o lidech. Kteří mají různý charakter. Někteří chytí příležitost za pacesy, jiní ještě přemýšlí v nějaké morální rovině. Je ale smutné, co má převahu...
March 30, 2025
I hovered between three and four stars, but the ending pushed it up to a solid four. Adapted into a film , which was the first Czechoslovak film to win an Oscar. I'll have to try to find it to see how it was adapted.
December 11, 2025
Už mi chýbala dobrá Slovenská literatúra. Samotný príbeh nie je dlhý, ale dobre napísaný. Tak slovensky, hihi.
A aj keď nie som vždy najväčší fanúšik predslovov a doslovov, predslov od syna Grosmana a komentár od historičky na koniec boli zaujímavé a poviedku podľa mňa veľmi dobre doplnili :)
A aj keď nie som vždy najväčší fanúšik predslovov a doslovov, predslov od syna Grosmana a komentár od historičky na koniec boli zaujímavé a poviedku podľa mňa veľmi dobre doplnili :)
September 21, 2025
Jeden z mála zriedkavých prípadov, kedy je film lepší ako kniha...
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April 13, 2016Read it in English.
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August 1, 2019At times, I got confused by the story's narration and dialogues. It might be because of my lack of concentration? Or my lack of language capability to understand it?
August 8, 2023
Kniha je rovnako dobrá ako film. A to stáva len málokedy.
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