A History of Light: The Czech List
Autor Jan Nemec Traducere de David Shorten Limba Engleză Hardback – 5 ian 2025
Have you ever wondered what a story written by a beam of light would be like? The story would be ordinary, but the course of events extraordinary. Its hero would be a photographer, a guardian of light. And, naturally, the tale would be full of shadow.
A History of Light delves into the fascinating life of František Drtikol (1883–1961), an important figure in early-twentieth-century photography who is all but forgotten in contemporary times. A dandy from a small mining town, a world-famous photographer whose business went bankrupt, a master of the nude who never had much luck with women, a mystic and a Buddhist who believed in communism—a man whose numerous contradictions were evident externally and synthesized internally.
A unique blend of fiction and biography, this novel vividly portrays Drtikol’s life, tracing the diverse stages of his career and offering detailed, almost encyclopedic insights into the times and places pivotal to his journey. Acclaimed Czech author Jan Němec narrates the story in the uncommon second-person singular, speaking directly to his subject. Fresco-like, this novel is an artistic and spiritual Bildungsroman that covers over half a century, bringing to life the silver mines of Príbram, Jugendstil Munich, and the Bohemianism of the First Czechoslovak Republic. Drtikol’s role as a photographer is set against the turbulent history of Central Europe through the two World Wars, and the events of those five decades form a riveting backdrop for an exploration of the artist’s work.
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Specificații
ISBN-13: 9781803094168
ISBN-10: 1803094168
Pagini: 412
Ilustrații: N
Dimensiuni: 152 x 229 mm
Greutate: 0.45 kg
Editura: Seagull Books
Colecția Seagull Books
Seria The Czech List
ISBN-10: 1803094168
Pagini: 412
Ilustrații: N
Dimensiuni: 152 x 229 mm
Greutate: 0.45 kg
Editura: Seagull Books
Colecția Seagull Books
Seria The Czech List
Notă biografică
Jan Němec is the author of four books in Czech. He has worked as a journalist and is currently the editor of the literary monthly Host and a freelance contributor to the daily Deník N. He is the author of a collection of short stories, Lilliputin, also published by Seagull Books. David Short is a translator of numerous books from Czech to English.
Cuprins
A History of Light
Translator’s Notes
Translator’s Notes
Recenzii
“I’m certain that Jan Němec’s novel The History of Light is unrivalled in current Czech literature. And I’d even argue that it’s a beacon which Czech literature has been lacking for a long time.”
“The History of Light isn’t only a biographical novel about František Drtikol. Němec uses the effect of hindsight—he depicts events whose participants cannot know the significance of what’s happening around them, while we are fully aware. Němec is essentially doing something similar to what Florian Illies did in the excellent novel 1913: The Year Before the Storm, where he for example lets Stalin meet Hitler in a Schönbrunn Palace garden; but the year is 1913 and none of those strolling through the park realise what atrocities these two men will one day commit.”
“Mystery, success and loneliness—these are ingredients for a nutritious literary dish. The author Jan Němec chose photographer František Drtikol as the hero of his book The History of Light and wrote one of last year’s best Czech novels.”