English / Authors /

(1970)
Prose writer

The “troublemaker” of the contemporary world of Czech literature. His mightiest weapons include wit, a feeling for language and a bottomless well of invention.

Eccentric literary talent of the up-and-coming younger generation of writers.


Selected bibliography:

Zabrisky, 1999 (novel)
A novel about a commercial author, first-class writer and above all total loser who is able to write anything, anytime and in any genre. The book tells the story of the moral crisis of a society that turns its back on culture and is satisfied with an uncomplicated sham.

Review:
“The main virtue of Zabrisky is Vaněk’s successful balancing of verbal and situational humour with cynicism, and a dramatic plot that is sometimes reminiscent of a thriller. The absurd beatnik - inspired pose of the caricatured protagonist is also very funny. (Some of his features are surely autobiographical.) . Each seemingly self-contained detail receives its special meaning in the final part of the novel, where the extremely complex web of the cleverly built story comes to light. Despite its tragic culmination, Zabrisky leaves the reader pleased that such a truly original and enticing book, written with a lot of kindness and a ‘light hand’, has taken its place in the ranks of “young” Czech literature.”
(Ondřej Bezr, Rock a Pop)

Poslední bourbon (The Last Bourbon, 1996, 2000, novel)
This story of a publisher of poetry who sinks to the very bottom of life and cannot find his way back up issues from the author’s own experience. Although the book describes the dismal conditions of a publisher’s life, it does so ungrudgingly and with a great deal of self-irony. The reader is familiarised with life in 1990’s Prague, and because things have not changed dramatically since then, the book still retains its relevance.

Review:
“I am not saying that The Last Bourbon by Bohuslav Vaněk-Úvalský is the best book published here in 1996. But definitely there is no other book of that year which I have read with such delight. I have to say that nothing else I have read has made me laugh so much as this story.”
(Vladimír Novotný, Reflex)

Brambora byla pomeranč mého dětství (Potatoes Were the Oranges of My Childhood, 2002, novella)
The theme of this book, in which the author describes his childhood with typical off-the-wall humour and also takes a look at 1970’s socialism, is a precise counterpart to the highly successful works of Thomas Brussig and Péter Ziláhy. What is more, Piolin, the main character of this story who has an unusual body and brain, is predestined for the most extraordinary deeds and achievements, thus giving the work another, truly fantastic dimension.

Review:
“The fresh humour and intelligent free-flowing writing address more than just the author’s childhood memories or fantasies. Here we have a view of some of the essential social, political and historical themes of the time. (...) Just try to imagine Ouředník’s Europeana cross-bred with Oskar Matzerath, the tin drummer. The cynical irony of history creates a stunning background to the story of the growing pains of a weird boy with a big head full of even weirder thoughts. (...) I declare Potatoes the best book of this year’s first quarter.”
(Michal Schindler, Tvar)

Ženy, Havel, hygiena (Women, Havel, Hygiene, 2003, prose in poetry)
The author’s latest book contains seventy-two portraits of women, all of which come together in a single story at the end. This is a kind of a private “womanology” that reminds the reader of the fates, habits, shapes, looks and passions of various women the author has met over a period of thirteen years (the stories are dated 1990 – 2003). The narrator, whose name is Ferdinand Havel (a playful allusion to Ferdinand Vaněk, the hero of Václav Havel’s plays), has many autobiographical features. Formally, the stories are written in the style of ‘prose in poetry’; all of these very short stories have an identical opening resembling a refrain (“I know one woman”).
The author also targets a significant phenomenon of today – the advertising industry. Numerous intrusions resembling advertisements appear in great detail and even contain specially prepared photographs or slogans.

Review:
“This is not just a bizarre private stocktaking. Vaněk inserts into his text shorter and longer sequences which record (with a growing amazement, it has to be said) events and occurrences not just in Czech society, but in society all over the world. His storytelling is renowned for its hallmark humour irony (including moments of self–deprecation); the author is well-acquainted also with satire and parody. But the main characteristic of his work is definitely its playfulness.”
(Lubomír Machala, Lidové noviny)

Presentations abroad:
Bratislava, Slovakia, 2003
Leipzig, Germany, 2004

Notes:
Excerpts from the works of Bohuslav Vaněk-Úvalský have been published in English and Polish in magazines ; reviews of his books have been published in German and Hungarian. Extracts from Brambora byla pomeranč mého dětství (Potatoes Were the Oranges of My Childhood) have been translated into German (by Mirko Kraetsch).
Extracts from the translations can be obtained from the Petrov publishing house.



Zabriski


Poslední bourbon /The Last Bourbon


Brambora byla pomeranč mého dětství / The Potato was the Orange of My Childhood


Ženy, Havel, hygiena / Women, Havel, hygiene