Commies, Crooks, Gypsies, Spooks & Poets: Thirteen Books of Prague in the Year of the Great Lice Epidemic

by Jan Novák

Winner of the Carl Sandburg Award for nonfiction.

Genres: History, Czech Literature

202 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Jan Novák (b. 1953) is a Czech-American author, screenwriter and playwright. He has published extensively in both Czech and English, also translating numerous works of Vaclav Havel into English. His English-language novels include Commies, Crooks, Gypsies, Spooks, and Poets and The Willys Dream Kit. Novák received his undergraduate education at Shimer College, a small Great Books college in Illinois, and later at the University of Chicago, where he also completed his master's degree. Novák has received numerous awards for his work, including the Carl Sandburg Award and the Magnesia Litera award. (from Shimer College Wiki)

Reviews

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm planning to visit Prague, and this is a delightful inside look with a dual Czech/American perspective. Literary, vibrant, funny.

[In · Rating 5 out of 5]

Novak's stories of Czechoslovakia from his childhood of fighting for oranges in the Stalinist fifties to his return with his wife and children decades later, delivers humor, advice on using head lice as currency and the realities of Post-Communism in Eastern Europe. After fleeing with the law on their tails, his family settles in America where he grows up and becomes "Americanized". Later wanting to give his kids a taste of Czech life, he takes them to a country trying to figure out how to live without the artificial supports of a government run society. The results are eye-opening, flat out funny and deserving of 5 stars . . . in my book.

[Linda Kenney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! I am planning to visit Prague, but more importantly, I used to live in Yugoslavia in the 70s and so many things about living in a Communist country were similar. The book brought back bittersweet memories.

[Quanti · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nedoposloucháno loni na rozhlasu, tak jsem dočetla. Možná by byla fajn pečlivější redakce, možná mi úplně nesedí ten styl se spoustou otázek, ale nebylo to nezajímavé. Zajímalo by mě, jaký názor na to zpětně mají autorovy děti, věkem - jestli data sedí - přesně odpovídající mně a mému muži :))

[Dymbula · Rating 4 out of 5]

Novák se mi čte dobře. Bývá ozdravné změnit úhel pohledu, nebo odstup. Odejít z ČSSR do Ameriky a pak se na chvíli vrátit zpět může být šok.

[Lukáš Cabala · Rating 4 out of 5]

pre mňa dostatočne zaujímavé texty, ale možno preto, že som v rámci Jana Nováka zainteresovaný čitateľ. Jeho štýl mi znie familiárne, cítim sa v ňom ako doma. Zaujíma ma čo si Novák myslí a ako vníma... On - ako človek - mi pripadá veľmi ľudský a autentický - ozajstný, špecifický a originálny. Nie je jedným z mnohých, je sám sebou v zmysle vytvorenia novej osobnosti.

[Michaela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of a strange love/hate letter to both Prague and the U.S.

[Brooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant. A must-read for Czech-Americans and anyone who's spent time in the Czech Republic. Also great for future visitors and those interested in deciphering the Czech psyche.