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Městečko u vody #2
Taka piękna żałoba
... tak oto w tych opowiadaniach zatrzymałem piękne obrazy, które nie starzeją się wraz ze mną: w książce tej pozostaję niezmiennie chłopczykiem w marynarskim ubranku, z tornistrem pełnym książek i zeszytów na plecach, wciąż jednak pogrążonym w szczelnym dzwonie świadomej nieświadomości, wciąż wybiegającym naprzeciw tajemnicy i zdziwieniu wywołanemu osłupieniem tym, co się wokół niego dzieje... (Bohumil Hrabal, Zamiast wstępu)
250 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1979
11 people are currently reading
225 people want to read
About the author
Bohumil Hrabal
185 books1,319 followersBorn in Brno-Židenice, Moravia, he lived briefly in Polná, but was raised in the Nymburk brewery as the manager's stepson.
Hrabal received a Law degree from Prague's Charles University, and lived in the city from the late 1940s on.
He worked as a manual laborer alongside Vladimír Boudník in the Kladno ironworks in the 1950s, an experience which inspired the "hyper-realist" texts he was writing at the time.
His best known novels were Closely Watched Trains (1965) and I Served the King of England. In 1965 he bought a cottage in Kersko, which he used to visit till the end of his life, and where he kept cats ("kočenky").
He was a great storyteller; his popular pub was At the Golden Tiger (U zlatého tygra) on Husova Street in Prague, where he met the Czech President Václav Havel, the American President Bill Clinton and the then-US ambassador to the UN Madeleine Albright on January 11th, 1994.
Several of his works were not published in Czechoslovakia due to the objections of the authorities, including The Little Town Where Time Stood Still (Městečko, kde se zastavil čas) and I Served the King of England (Obsluhoval jsem anglického krále).
He died when he fell from a fifth floor hospital where he was apparently trying to feed pigeons. It was noted that Hrabal lived on the fifth floor of his apartment building and that suicides by leaping from a fifth-floor window were mentioned in several of his books.
He was buried in a family grave in the cemetery in Hradištko. In the same grave his mother "Maryška", step father "Francin", uncle "Pepin", wife "Pipsi" and brother "Slávek" were buried.
He wrote with an expressive, highly visual style, often using long sentences; in fact his work Dancing Lessons for the Advanced in Age (1964) (Taneční hodiny pro starší a pokročilé) is made up of just one sentence. Many of Hrabal's characters are portrayed as "wise fools" - simpletons with occasional or inadvertent profound thoughts - who are also given to coarse humour, lewdness, and a determination to survive and enjoy oneself despite harsh circumstances. Political quandaries and their concomitant moral ambiguities are also a recurrent theme.
Along with Jaroslav Hašek, Karel Čapek, and Milan Kundera - who were also imaginative and amusing satirists - he is considered one of the greatest Czech writers of the 20th century. His works have been translated into 27 languages.
Hrabal received a Law degree from Prague's Charles University, and lived in the city from the late 1940s on.
He worked as a manual laborer alongside Vladimír Boudník in the Kladno ironworks in the 1950s, an experience which inspired the "hyper-realist" texts he was writing at the time.
His best known novels were Closely Watched Trains (1965) and I Served the King of England. In 1965 he bought a cottage in Kersko, which he used to visit till the end of his life, and where he kept cats ("kočenky").
He was a great storyteller; his popular pub was At the Golden Tiger (U zlatého tygra) on Husova Street in Prague, where he met the Czech President Václav Havel, the American President Bill Clinton and the then-US ambassador to the UN Madeleine Albright on January 11th, 1994.
Several of his works were not published in Czechoslovakia due to the objections of the authorities, including The Little Town Where Time Stood Still (Městečko, kde se zastavil čas) and I Served the King of England (Obsluhoval jsem anglického krále).
He died when he fell from a fifth floor hospital where he was apparently trying to feed pigeons. It was noted that Hrabal lived on the fifth floor of his apartment building and that suicides by leaping from a fifth-floor window were mentioned in several of his books.
He was buried in a family grave in the cemetery in Hradištko. In the same grave his mother "Maryška", step father "Francin", uncle "Pepin", wife "Pipsi" and brother "Slávek" were buried.
He wrote with an expressive, highly visual style, often using long sentences; in fact his work Dancing Lessons for the Advanced in Age (1964) (Taneční hodiny pro starší a pokročilé) is made up of just one sentence. Many of Hrabal's characters are portrayed as "wise fools" - simpletons with occasional or inadvertent profound thoughts - who are also given to coarse humour, lewdness, and a determination to survive and enjoy oneself despite harsh circumstances. Political quandaries and their concomitant moral ambiguities are also a recurrent theme.
Along with Jaroslav Hašek, Karel Čapek, and Milan Kundera - who were also imaginative and amusing satirists - he is considered one of the greatest Czech writers of the 20th century. His works have been translated into 27 languages.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
October 30, 2019
Osobiście, pierwszosobowo przyznam, że Taka piękna żałoba mnie oczarowała. Hrabal przekonał mnie tonem, czułością obrazowania oraz poczuciem humoru, ale też i kunsztem prostego języka. Na pewno będę chciał sięgnąć po resztę tryptyku nymburskiego oraz inne książki z dorobku Czecha. Na koniec pozdrowienia i podziękowania dla Anny przesyłam, po cichu licząc na jej komentarz.
June 25, 2016
A charming collection of autobiographic short stories set out in the 1930s-40s. Uncle Pepin wins (our hearts) again.
November 6, 2016
uncle pepin ftw!
January 3, 2023
Niezwykle poruszająca i niezwykle smutna, mimo obecnego humoru.
May 4, 2025
masterpiece
March 10, 2025
tak jakbym znowu czytał miasteczko w którym zatrzymał się czas ale bez najlepszych momentów
November 10, 2022
Od středoškolských let dokonale zapomenuto. Zatímco Postřižiny mi úplně překryl film, tady jsem znovu objevila zvláštní poetiku a kupodivu (!) i skvělý smysl pro humor a popis humorných nebo absurdních situací.
Ty poetické povídky mě až tak nebavily, ale při bláznivých popisech absurdních řetězců komických a ztřeštěných situací jsem se místy smála nahlas.
Ty poetické povídky mě až tak nebavily, ale při bláznivých popisech absurdních řetězců komických a ztřeštěných situací jsem se místy smála nahlas.
September 16, 2021
Hrabal bierze znane słowa i układa je w nowe znaczenia. Każe odczuwać emocje, które nie wiedziałam, że znam. Podziwiam czułość jego obserwacji, odpoczywam w jego stylu, doceniam jego inność.
May 7, 2020
"Én olyan szíves örömest átadnám valakinek mindazt, amit tudok."
Felolvasásban hallgattam végig a kötetet. Mikor hallottam az első fejezetet, azt gondoltam, az lesz a kedvencem. A következőről ismét. És ahányszor csak újabb és újabb fejezetet hallgattam, mindig az aktuális lett a kedvencem. Ezek a hol lazábban, hol szorosabban összefüggő fejezetek mind egytől egyig értékesek. Vannak líraibb, vannak humorosabb részek, de mindegyikben benne van egy olyan mély groteszkség, ami csak Hrabalra jellemző, és amiből sosem elég. Mert sajnos, emberek vagyunk.
Azt hiszem, eddig ez a kedvenc Hrabal-kötetem. Aztán majd ezután?...
Felolvasásban hallgattam végig a kötetet. Mikor hallottam az első fejezetet, azt gondoltam, az lesz a kedvencem. A következőről ismét. És ahányszor csak újabb és újabb fejezetet hallgattam, mindig az aktuális lett a kedvencem. Ezek a hol lazábban, hol szorosabban összefüggő fejezetek mind egytől egyig értékesek. Vannak líraibb, vannak humorosabb részek, de mindegyikben benne van egy olyan mély groteszkség, ami csak Hrabalra jellemző, és amiből sosem elég. Mert sajnos, emberek vagyunk.
Azt hiszem, eddig ez a kedvenc Hrabal-kötetem. Aztán majd ezután?...
September 25, 2023
Una maravilla esta novela narrada a través de cuentos cortos desde el punto de vista de un niño (el mismo autor): Bohumil Hrabal, también autor de la novela Trenes rigurosamente vigilados. En Argentina se la consigue bajo el título Una hermosa tristeza, editada por Pinka, en su primera traducción al castellano.
Want to read
September 3, 2019Đại lý Toyota Long Biên https://xexe.vn/toyota-long-bien/
May 29, 2022
Amazing!!!
August 21, 2023
konisko zaklęte w ciele chłopca o twarzy starca
June 2, 2024
6/10
Przyjaźń z Hrabalem jednak nadal nie zawarta.
Przyjaźń z Hrabalem jednak nadal nie zawarta.
December 30, 2025
Urzekająco czuła opowieść.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews