Hi, I'm a Russian lit major looking to expand into Eastern
Europe... (figuratively,that is :)... I was wondering if
anyone has any recommended reading - books you've read and
absolutely loved. Anything Eastern European, but not
Russian, and preferably 20th century. For my part, I just
read Ivan Klima's "My Golden Trades" (he's Czech) and loved
it. Thanks!
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Milan Kundera (CZ)
Kafka, of course (CZ)
Also try czech cinema
I read a book of Essays by Czech writer called, I believe,
Jozef Slovecky. Not 'technically' literature but really
interesting stuff.
Hrabal(cz) is funny/good. Mircea Eliade(ro) is interesting.
Hi Masha, do you consider greek literature as eastern
european? If you do, then you will love the works of Nikos
Kazantzakis, especially "The Last Temptation". If you are
interested, I can give you more titles.
Thanks for the suggestions! That should keep me busy for
awhile. No, though I probably consider Greece Eastern
Europe, I'm looking at Slavic, but thanks! And the book I'm
reading right now, "Dreams of my Russian Summers" by Andrei
Makine (translated from French), is great - highly
recommended. The writer is Russian, grew up in Siberia, but
with a French grandmother, and emigrated to France in the
late 80s. It's a great book.
"A Minor Apocalypse" by Tadeusz Konwicki
http://www.czech.cz
How about Franz Kafka?
These are my suggestions:
Czech Republic: Kundera, Hrabal, Skvorecky
Poland: Witold Gombrowicz
Slovenia: Drago Jancar (he's mostly translated into German
and Czech, but I think some of his works should have
appeared in English as well); Various: anthologies of short
stories
Croatia: Slavenka Drakulic (I know more of them, but she
definitely is translated into English)
Bosnia: Ivo Andric (Nobel prize)
Serbia: Danilo Kis
Macedonia: Zivko Cingo
Unfortunately I can't remember any Slovaks or Bulgarians - a
shame knowing I'm Slovenian and a literature student...
Semezdin Mehmedinovic (BiH), SARAJEVO BLUES. read it, you'll LOVE it!
Aleksandr Dukhnovyc (Carpatho-Rusyn), VIRTUE IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN RICHES. it's a play from the nineteenth century by the most important Rusyn writer.
and you might try Thomas Bell's OUT OF THIS FURNACE, which is properly American literature, but he was of Slovak descent and the book is sort of like THE JUNGLE, about the life of Slovak immigrants to Western PA before WWI.
Anything by Josef Skvorecky especially "The Republic of
Whores" as well as all the books by Ivan Klima, Milan
Kundera and B.Hrabal.
I highly recommend a book called "Hangwoman" by Pavel
Kohout and other books he wrote.
There is a really cool writer in Slovakia called Martin M.
Simecka, read his book "The Year of the Frog".
The Good Soldier Svejk by Jaroslav Hasek. Go thru this book
& do your own eastern european pub tour !