Books from Slovakia
18 popular slovak books
Travel the world without leaving your chair.
The target of the Read Around The World Challenge is to read at least one book written by an author from each and every country in the world.
All books that are listed here as part of the "Read Around Europe Challenge" were written by authors from Slovakia.
Find a great book for the next part of your reading journey around the world from this book list. The following popular books have been recommended so far.
1.
Description:
Sometimes running away is the bravest option. Or, so believes Rosa, who ditches her husband and home and takes off on the road. Along the way, she encounters the owner of a puppet theater who’s on a mission to conquer the world with his performance of The Snow Queen. Which character from this old fairy tale will Rosa identify with? With Gerda, searching fruitlessly for her lost love? With Kai, who flees home and his beloved one day without a word? Or with the Snow Queen, who seems to stand aloof above it all? With magnetic, sparkling prose, Beňová delivers a lively mosaic that ruminates on hum... continue
2.
But Crime Does Punish by Jan Johanides EN
Description:
"So, as you see, I am familiar with the case. However, we can’t discuss it unless you learn more about some other court cases, so that you can compare your father’s trial with other, more baffling cases, and see it in the context of the madness that reigned at the time." In Ján Johanides riveting Slovak novel, you the reader are thrust in medias res, assuming the role of a silent partner in a one-sided conversation with someone you know nothing about. As the pages turn, you must grasp onto significant details to piece together who you are, who the narrator is, and why you have sought him out. ... continue
4.
El Último encuentro by Sándor Márai ES
Description:
La búsqueda de la verdad como fuerza liberadora, como soporte ético imprescindible para sobrellevar el transcurso de una vida, está en el centro de esta novela magistral, que tras permanecer en el olvido durante más de cincuenta años fue rescatada por la prestigiosa editorial italiana Adelphi y se colocó rápidamente en el primer puesto de las listas de libros más vendidos de Italia. La tremenda exactitud de su prosa, apenas atemperada con un barniz de refinada melancolía, unida a la vigencia de sus propuestas morales, sitúa ... continue
5.
Embers by Sandor Marai EN
Description:
Originally published in 1942 and now rediscovered to international acclaim, this taut and exquisitely structured novel by the Hungarian master Sandor Marai conjures the melancholy glamour of a decaying empire and the disillusioned wisdom of its last heirs. In a secluded woodland castle an old General prepares to receive a rare visitor, a man who was once his closest friend but who he has not seen in forty-one years. Over the ensuing hours host and guest will fight a duel of words and silences, accusations and evasions. They will exhume the memory of their friendship and that of the General’s b... continue
6.
Gloed / druk 36 by Sándor Márai NL
Description:
Als twee jeugdvrienden elkaar na veertig jaar weer ontmoeten, blijkt dat zich destijds een tragedie tussen hen heeft afgespeeld met betrekking tot de vrouw van een van hen.
7.
Manual de despedidas by Jana Beňová ES
Description:
Cuatro jóvenes amigos -dos parejas-, van a la deriva por la vida, con imprecisas aspiraciones artísticas e intelectuales que comparten en el Café Viena (que denominan "Café Hiena"). Elza, quien tiene el mayor protagonismo, se ha ido a vivir con Ian a Petrzalka, una barrio suburbano fuera de Bratislava; un mundo totalmente nuevo.
La novela está narrada en su mayor parte, a través de párrafos cortos, a veces fragmentarios sin seguir necesariamente un hilo conductor, lo cual refuerza esta sensación de vidas fuera del tiempo.
Enti... continue
8.
Rivers of Babylon by Peter Pišt̕anek EN
Description:
It is 1989. Across Central Europe, socalism is crumbling, and robber capitalism is being born. Rivers of Babylon tells this story of a Central Europe, where criminals, intellectuals and secret policemen have infiltrated a new democracy, through the eyes of Racz, sociopathic gangster and idiot of genius. Slovak readers acknowledge Peter Pist'anek as their most flamboyant and fearless writer, stripping the nation of its myths and false self-esteem.
9.
Samko Tále's Cemetery Book by Daniela Kapitáňová EN
Description:
Short satirical novel translated from Slovak about an autistic waste-paper collector who conforms to every authority or prejudice, regardless of the effect on those around him
10.
Seeing People Off by Jana Beňová EN
Description:
*Winner of the European Union Prize for Literature. There is a liveliness and effervescence to Jana Benová’s prose that is magnetic. Whether addressing the loneliness of relationships or the effectiveness of rat poison, her voice and observations call to mind the verve and sophistication of Renata Adler or Jenny Offill, while remaining utterly singular. Seeing People Off follows Elza and Ian, a young couple living in a humongous apartment complex outside Bratislava where the walls play music and talk, and time is immaterial. Drawing on her memories, everyday interactions, observations of post-... continue