BOOKS FROM SLOVAKIABoat Number Five
Tags:
Set in Slovakia
Female author
Description:
The moving yet humorous story of a girl struggling to care for herself and others in post-communist Slovakia. Emotionally neglected by her immature, promiscuous mother and made to care for her cantankerous dying grandmother, twelve-year-old Jarka is left to fend for herself in the social vacuum of a post-communist concrete apartment-block jungle in Bratislava, Slovakia. She spends her days roaming the streets and daydreaming in the only place she feels safe: a small garden inherited from her grandfather. One day, on her way to the garden, she stops at a suburban railway station and impulsively abducts twin babies. Jarka teeters on the edge of disaster, and while struggling to care for the babies, she discovers herself. With a vivid and unapologetic eye, Monika Kompaníková captures the universal quest for genuine human relationships amid the emptiness and ache of post-communist Europe. Boat Number Five, which was adapted into an award-winning Slovak film, is the first of two books that launch Seagull's much-anticipated Slovak List.
Reviews:
(1 year ago) |
03 Apr, 2025
The story of a profoundly neglected young girl and her attempts to build a home and a family. Sad but somehow hopeful as well. Very engaging, I really enjoyed it.
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(9 months ago)
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05 Aug, 2025
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