The Attempt

by Magdaléna Platzová, Alex Zucker (Translator)

When a Czech historian becomes convinced he’s the illegitimate great-grandson of an infamous anarchist who attempted an assassination while living in the United States, he travels to New York to investigate. Arriving in Manhattan during the height of the Occupy Wall Street movement, his research takes him further back into the past—from the Pittsburgh home of a nineteenth-century US industrialist to 1920s Europe, where a celebrated anarchist couple is on the run from the law.

Based on the lives of Alexander Berkman and Emma Goldman, The Attempt is a novel about the legacy of radical politics and relationships—one that traverses centuries and continents to deliver a moving, powerful story of personal and political transformation

Genres: Czech Literature, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Literature, Literary Fiction, Adult Fiction

224 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2013

About the author

Magdaléna Platzová is a Czech writer, journalist, playwright and translator. She studied at Georgetown University, Brockwood Park School and Charles University in Prague where she obtained master's degree in philosophy. In 2001-2004 she worked as a literary editor for Czech weekly newspaper Literární noviny. She currently writes cultural journalism for Prague-based weekly magazine Respekt.

Reviews

[Nancy Oakes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Idealism, anarchy (in different forms), freedom. I won't be posting about this book here in any sort of depth for a little while (not out until May), but despite what others have said, I really liked this novel. The longer I thought about it, the more I came to appreciate what the author is saying here. I do think it will be highly misunderstood, and it definitely follows a different sort of structure (i.e.), not a plot-based novel, but one more based on ideas. This book is really more for out of the box sort of thinkers rather than those who are highly dependent on plot lines. But I think aside from a few issues, it's a really good one, encompassing both modern and historical times. And by the way -- the second half of the book is about a thinly-disguised Alexander Berkman (think McKinley assassination) and Emma Goldman. I have to give it some more thought, but I really liked this one.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fictional account of the life of Alexander Berkman (Andrei B. in the story) and Emma Goldman (Louise G. in the story) and their anarchist activities in the early 20th century. The translation was well done, the story flowed nicely. My only complaint is that the story jumped around a bit, and at times I had trouble figuring out which character was narrating.

[Kája-prongs · Rating 1 out of 5]

Taková pí******, hrozný čtení..

[Adéla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anarchista je dílo, které mě zcela překvapilo. Anotace naznačuje, že se bude jednat o historický román, ale realita je mnohem složitější. Jedná se spíš o mozaiku několika různých mikropříběhů navrstvených do sebe. Protíná se zde hlavně život anarchisty Andreje B. z přelomu 19. a 20. století s životem současného zkrachovalého badatele, jemuž byla vnuknuta myšlenka, že Andrej B. je jeho předek, historik se v první části až detektivně snaží zjistit všechno zjistitelné o životě a rodině průmyslníka, na kterého Andrej B. spáchal atentát. Složitý, já vím. Někdo by mohl říct, že si autorka ukousla velký sousto, ale kdo říká, že chronologický příběh napěchovaný zápletkou je jediná možnost?

[Patrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

The ostensible motive for the narrator of The Attempt, Jan, to begin the research which constitutes the bulk of the book, is that his friend Josef believes that Jan's great-grandfather was actually the anarchist Andrei B. - a stand-in for Alexander Berkman - and Jan sets out to find out what he can about Andrei and his companion Louise (a stand-in for Emma Goldman). Jan begins his research with the Kolman family, descendents of the industrialist John C. Kolman (a stand-in for Henry Clay Frick, mostly known today for founding the Frick Gallery), whom Andrei tried and failed to assassinate in the 1890s (which attempt brought about the collapse of the strike at the steel plant Frick was managing and resulted in thousands of workers losing their jobs). But neither the author nor the narrator is interested in the question of Jan's family relations, nor in the ideas of anarchism or capitalism, for that matter. As he portrays himself, Jan is fairly bland and desireless, except for a desultory affair with a Romanian scholar. Instead, the heart of the books is conveyed in two imagined narratives, one by Kolman's great-grand-daughter about her great-grandfather and great aunt, and one by Jan's friend Josef about the lives of Andrei and Louise after they are deported to Russia in 1919 and end up in France and Canada. Neither of these focus on the political ideals which are supposedly motivating the characters, but instead on their personal lives, which in both cases are basically sad and lonely (as is Jan's life.) If this is the author's point, it is a fairly banal one, and carries little weight, because the characters aren't sufficiently developed to come across as real people - even the things they are supposed to be excited about come across as dull. There is an attempt at connecting these characters and events with Occupy Wall Street, but OWS comes into the story so peripherally, and is so briefly described and amorphous (as it in fact was - did it have anything to do with anarchism? It would depend on who you talked to there - everyone seemed to have a different pet issue they were promoting) that it seems like an afterthought to give the work some contemporary resonance. The eponymous attempt here seems to be the author's cobbling together a novel out of characters and ideas she has no real interest in.

Note: Alex Zucker's translation is, as usual, clear and exemplary.

[William Adams · Rating 2 out of 5]

This may be one of those historical fictions where you have to be familiar with the historical facts and context for it to be interesting because the text of the novel itself just did not generate any interest for me. Most historical fiction I read, which is not much, goes the other way, where the author lards on the historical research in such irrelevant detail that the characters’ stories are swamped. But in The Attempt, lackadaisical characters mope through fogs of ennui and write long, rambling letters to each other in pages and pages of hard-to-read italics.

The main character, Jan, is a Czech historian and believes, for no plausible reason, that he is related to an American anarchist of a hundred years ago who attempted the murder of a prominent industrialist but failed. It’s referred to as an “assassination” attempt, but I thought that word was reserved for murder of political figures. Maybe not.

Jan does lots of tedious, epistolary research then heads off to America to investigate his suspicion, but nothing is really at stake. Why does he care? I don’t know. He’s a historian. They don’t need to care, I guess. He arrives in the midst of the Occupy Wall Street movement and that situation is supposed to invoke the spirit of the hundred-year-old anarchist movement in the U.S, but I’m not sure if does. Was OWS really an anarchist movement? I didn’t see it that way.

Jan’s travels take him to Pittsburgh and the family home of the famous industrialist who was attacked so long ago, and there he meets a hostile and reclusive family that does not want to give him any information about the assassination attempt, which they seem to regard as somehow shameful. Nothing really comes of this adventure and I had a difficult time getting to the end. Bland, unmotivated, cerebral characters in a story with no action is not a formula for reader engagement.

Also, though the writing is good, even lyrical at times, I “read” the main character as female for some reason, rather than male. That might just be my social biases, or a cultural difference, or a translation effect. I can’t even say exactly why I thought that. Must have been my stereotypes acting up, but the anomaly distracted me from the story.

So in the end, I learned a little history, enjoyed some well-crafted sentences, but really never became engaged and struggled to finish.

[Chris]

I found the prose of this book straightforward, descriptive, but without elaborate artistry. The characters are more caricatures (perhaps unavoidable in historical fiction). I enjoyed the descriptions of New York City. The political ideas mentioned, and the historical continuity of these ideas that Platzova shows, linking the fundaments of 19th century anarchism and the contemporary Occupy movement are impressive.
There have always been those advocating and active for economic and social justice. The Attempt leaves me to think, "What has changed?"
Philosophies and the practice of them, perhaps. Humanity is largely the same as it ever was.

[Audrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book from Bellevue Literary Press and Library Thing . This was an Early Reviewer copy. I loved the writing in this very atmospheric novel which bounced between Czechoslovakia and New York City. I did find the story a little "disjointed" as it bounced between differing characters, times, and locations and I never did figure out what the plot of the novel was. Everyone in the novel was always on the way to do something, but no one ever seemed to get anything done.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I made a poor start with Stu's Czech Lit Month at Winston's Dad with Jaroslav Hasek's The Good Soldier Svejk (1921, transl. by Cecil Parrott) because — notwithstanding its citation in 1001 Books You Must Read (2006 edition) — I abandoned it. As I said in my brief review at Goodreads, it was just not my kind of book.

But The Attempt (Anarchista) by Czech author Magdaléna Platzová is very much my kind of book.

Now based in Lyon, France, Magdaléna Platzová was born in 1972 Prague under Soviet Occupation, and though educated in the US and UK, she writes in Czech, including two novels available in English: Aaron's Leap, (Aaronův skok, 2006), and The Attempt (Anarchista, 2013).   Both these books interrogate the fraught history of the 20th century in Europe, canvassing issues of idealism in a real world that suppresses it. The Attempt derives in part from the true story of the Russian anarchist Alexander Berkman and his partner Emma Goldman and the 1892 attempt to kill the industrialist, financier and patron of the arts Henry Clay Frick.

In Platzová's novel, these people are re-named Andrei B, Louise G, and John C Kolman. They become the subject of a Czech historian's quest to complete the book of his dead friend Josef, and he travels to America to finish the research.  It turns out to be more difficult than Jan expected because he is denied access to some documents by the descendants of John C Kolman, and — distracted by (a) the Occupy Wall Street movement and (b) his unsuccessful love-life — he undergoes a transformation in his own sense of idealism.

This plot outline enables Platzová to interrogate the trial-and-error processes of political change.  At social gatherings amid the Occupy Wall Street crowd Jan hears discussions about whether violence is always necessary for change because wealthy people won't give up what they have, in order to achieve equality.  In conversation with Sr Michaela, Kolman's descendant who's become a nun, he hears her argue that people who have amassed obscene wealth can't be forgiven simply by amassing an art collection and then allowing people to view it for free.  In Louise's texts, Jan finds her musing on Father Jerome, a French catholic priest in the US, who advocated poverty at a time when Protestant preachers were roaming the country, spreading word that it was man's duty to accumulate wealth.

Wealth was a sign of God's blessing, and poverty God's punishment for sins and laziness, they claimed.

'How did money come to be held as the greatest value in the New World?' Louise questioned.  'Where does this greed come from, this urge to accumulate more and more?' (p.87)

TO read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2023/09/26/t...

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this fiction.The narrator was born in the 1970s in Eastern Europe Ostensibly the narrator is trying to research the
international anarchy movement of the early 20th century and how it relates to his own family as well as how their history was interwoven with a very rich family, the Kolman's (who were in the American coal business in Pittsburgh). However I thought the underlying theme of the book are idealistic movements whether religious or political attempting to change human nature. I found the underlying story much more interesting. The characters came to life because the author succeeds in contextualizing the times and motivations of the characters very well. I would love to read another book by miss Platzova.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book featuring Prague and New York feels like it was written entirely for me. I'm excited to have the opportunity to read more contemporary Czech writers in English. It was difficult for me to keep track of all of the characters and their stories and histories. It's a very easy quick read. Outside of my usual genre!

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intriguing novel, raising more questions than answers. For starters, I do not know why the author chose to give fictional names to the anarchists Emma Goldman and Aleksandr Birkman while following almost every detail of their lives without any changes at all. The outer story is that of a Czech historian who comes to New York to explore the life of Birkman, supposedly his great-grandfather. He seeks out the granddaughter of the industrialst, Henry Frick, whom Birkman tried to kill in 1890. Somewhat unbelievably, she is still alive in 2011. Then the scene shifts back to the 1919-1937 period when the anarchists were deported to Russia and ended up exiled in France. Both sections of the novel are quite compelling but that may be because I share the author's fascination with both New York City and the historical characters. And I also love the Frick museum in New York, as the author does. Oh, and there's also a scene at Zuccotti Park during the Occupy Wall Street moment, but again I may appreciate it more for having been there than for its integral connection to the novel.

Maybe it would help other readers to start with Emma Goldman's writings, her memoir or her great takedown of Bolshevik Russia before taking on this novel.

[Sarah-Hope · Rating 4 out of 5]

Magdalená Platzová’s The Attempt is one of those novels that rewards multiple readings—and the concise beauty of her prose makes multiple readings easily possible. This work of historical fiction ranges from the anarchist communities of 1920s Europe to the recent Occupy Wall Street movement. Besides its two historical threads, this book offers a meditation on political resistance; it jumps forward and backward in time, looking at the interplay between individual lives and larger political constructs. When you want a book that will really make you think—not for a few moments, but at length—reach for this title.

[World Literature Today]

"Anarchy has not quite yet faded into the history books. This politico-philosophical movement, which espouses self-governing societies and opposes corporate greed, shows its vitality in The Attempt vis-à-vis Occupy Wall Street rallies. Magdaléna Platzová, a contemporary Czech novelist, opens and closes her latest story at encampments with this protest group." - Virginia Parobek

This book was reviewed in the September/October 2016 issue of World Literature Today magazine. Read the full review by visiting our website:

http://www.worldliteraturetoday.org/2...

[Tom Leland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tried to flow with the disjointedness, but it was a distraction. But plenty of thought-provoking stuff here, particularly about the purpose and value of anarchy -- including a look at the true meaning of the word, vs. its stigma in society. Amazingly, my second book within a year touching on the McKinley assassination.

[Mary Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really 31/2 stars - This novel, translated from the Czech, is based on the lives of historical anarchists, Alexander Berkman and Emma Goldman.