Readers who lived through the collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe may wonder why Szczygiel, who won the European Book Prize in 2009 after “Gottland” was translated into French, feels the need to revisit the totalitarian times. It turns out that the Czechs even have a word, kafkarna, that they use to describe “an absurdity that is impossible to explain rationally.” Because of the long periods of totalitarianism suffered by Czechoslovakia - a country born out of the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire after World War I and dissolved into the Czech and Slovak republics in 1993 - the concept also has a nightmarish application, and that becomes Szczygieł’s true subject. He’s a Polish writer and journalist, looking with a kind of appalled fascination at his country’s southern neighbor and finding that life there can often be, well, Kafkaesque. One thing worth remembering while reading Mariusz Szczygieł’s mordant “Gottland: Mostly True Stories From Half of Czechoslovakia” is that Franz Kafka was a Czech, and Szczygieł is not. What's important, I’d like you to feel free to make use of the 'submit' button too! I hope you'll enjoy browsing this blog and will be returning here in the future. Roughly, it includes: important and/or interesting news about the Czech Republic, humorous reports, photos I took myself and nice pictures I found on the internet, beautiful videos, captivating music and what not. What can you find on this blog? The list of items is quite long and actually there are no limits to it. The Czech Republic and its culture is my passion and that's why living in Prague in the future is definitely on my 'to do' list. What's more, my fascination made me learn the Czech language and I enjoy doing it by watching films, reading magazines or just browsing the internet.

I've already been not only to Prague, Ostrava, Brno, Pardubice or České Budějovice, but also many smaller towns like Třebič, Český Krumlov, or Mělník. Since that time I've been doing my best to get back there at least once a year. A few years back I went to the Czech Republic and I fell for this country and its people immediately. Well, let's say that in this case it will deal with both. I'm not sure if the 'about' section should be about the blog or about its author.

Mariusz szczygiel gottland