Prague, Capital of the Twentieth Century: A Surrealist History

by Derek Sayer

Setting out to recover the roots of modernity in the boulevards, interiors, and arcades of the "city of light," Walter Benjamin dubbed Paris "the capital of the nineteenth century." In this eagerly anticipated sequel to his acclaimed "Coasts of Bohemia: A Czech History," Derek Sayer argues that Prague could well be seen as the capital of the much darker twentieth century. Ranging across twentieth-century Prague's astonishingly vibrant and always surprising human landscape, this richly illustrated cultural history describes how the city has experienced (and suffered) more ways of being modern than perhaps any other metropolis.
Located at the crossroads of struggles between democratic, communist, and fascist visions of the modern world, twentieth-century Prague witnessed revolutions and invasions, national liberation and ethnic cleansing, the Holocaust, show trials, and snuffed-out dreams of "socialism with a human face." Yet between the wars, when Prague was the capital of Europe's most easterly parliamentary democracy, it was also a hotbed of artistic and architectural modernism, and a center of surrealism second only to Paris.
Focusing on these years, Sayer explores Prague's spectacular modern buildings, monuments, paintings, books, films, operas, exhibitions, and much more. A place where the utopian fantasies of the century repeatedly unraveled, Prague was tailor-made for surrealist Andre Breton's "black humor," and Sayer discusses the way the city produced unrivaled connoisseurs of grim comedy, from Franz Kafka and Jaroslav Hasek to Milan Kundera and Vaclav Havel. A masterful and unforgettable account of a city where an idling flaneur could just as easily be a secret policeman, this book vividly shows why Prague can teach us so much about the twentieth century and what made us who we are.
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Genres: History, Art, Czech Literature, Nonfiction, European History

624 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2013

Reviews

[Owen Hatherley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Absolutely fascinating material on the unexpectedly sexy communist modernists and surrealists of 1920s Prague, nearly but not quite spoiled by constant garrulousness and a practically 100 page digression on Paris.

[Lisalou · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I'm giving this 4 stars, I'm not sure I'd actually recommend it to anyone. It is a dense book that doesn't have a linear trajectory. There's a lot about the French Surrealists. I'm not sure there's really enough about Prague. I at least expected more and hoped it would cover all of the 20th century. But I read it at the right time for me so thus I really liked it. Do not even bother to look through if you're even vaguely prudish. As there's plenty of talk about sex as well as sexual images.

[Tony · Rating 4 out of 5]

This very informative book covering surrealism is focused on the French and Czechoslovak groups of artists and the role Prague played in the movement. The style is academic (with over 100 pages of references) but still quite readable. The author is very familiar with Czech history, literature, architecture and art, and his book makes me want to visit and revisit many of the city spots and look anew at sites.

[Chris Linehan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like with all surrealist literature, a surrealist history of a surrealist movement makes for a semi lopsided and disjointed reading experience. I enjoyed this book and it had the same effect on me that most surrealist literature has had. It frustrates me and pushes my boundaries leaving me intrigued, eager for more and ready for a break, simultaneously. The book is a good history, but as with much of my attempt to learn Czech history I have found myself without a firm foundation to many of the things alluded to in this book. That said, the author does give a lot of information in a digestible way that verges on the glutinous. I probably didn’t read this fast enough to retain the whole of it and will need to reread it to fully appreciate it, but I feel like I have a better understanding of Prague having finished the book.

[Brian Washines · Rating 4 out of 5]

Derek Sayer has written a detailed and comprehensive text about a period of art history in Prague, Capital of the Twentieth Century: A Surrealist History. The age of Breton, Lautremont, Éluard, Dali, and Tanguey. Europe was looking down the barrel of fascism in the 1930s. Imagery and aesthetics began to take on new meaning in the age of propaganda, industrialization, commercialism, and sexual liberation coupled with a dualism invited by restrictive social mores and authoritarian government. What a time to be alive. This book is alive with the figures of a movement that established a newer way at looking at our image-laden information-reliant referential times. Not everything makes sense so why should our art and literature? What does it look like casting a mirror against chaos and madness, if not more so? An interesting tome, worthy of any library dedicated to art history.

[Lysergius · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surrealism is as much about the unconscious, the dream state, the trance, as this monumental tome by Derek Sayer, which attempts, as if in a dream, to trace the decline and fall of Surrealism, the Surrealist movement, and the link between the cities of Paris and Prague, as the two centres of the movement. Typically once this box of Pandoras is opened all sorts of things spew out, a veritable treasure trove of out of the way esoterica, that make this book a joy to read. It connects to so many allusions, correspondences, and symbols that it is reads like an alchemical masterwork. A valuable companion to The Coasts of Bohemia.

[Terry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting, but a little disjointed. It was sometimes not clear who and where he was talking about. A list of characters would have helped, especially if you are not familiar with the Cezh names.

[Jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Did not complete. It was interesting, when I actually picked it up and focused on it. I was just reading it at a glacial pace and had to return it to the library.