CZECHIA’S HIGHEST LITERARY HONOUR – BOOK OF THE YEAR (2005)
So Far So Good
September 2011, 624 pages
Available material: English translation, French sample
Foreign editions: USA (Slavica Publishers, Indiana University), Poland (Ksiazkowe Klimaty), Hungary (Kalligram)
Rights sold: Serbia (Akademska knjiga)
A masterpiece. Novák has seized the most powerful material since 1945 that Czech history offers
The true story of three young Czech men whose daring exploits of anti-Communist resistance and 1953 flight to West Berlin set off the largest manhunt in the history of the Eastern Bloc. To this day, whether the Mašín brothers were heroes or murderers is a point of contention that continues to divide the country. A touchy, sophisticated portrait of several extraordinary personalities – including father Mašín: soldier, legionnaire and one of the “Three Kings” of the Protectorate period, his wife Zdena, mother-in-law Emma, daughter Nenda, sons Josef and Ctirad Mašín as well as their friends and collaborators. The captivating and dramatic story of five youngsters armed with pistols facing a 20-thousand-strong army of East German Volkspolizei unfolds like a western. So Far So Good was awarded the Magnesia Litera as the Czech Book of the year 2004, became a best-seller and has been in print ever since.
“This is a contemporary thriller and the hard-to-believe actions of these people bring to mind the Northern sagas or Homer, which feature similar heroes. But in contrast to legends and myths, these were all actual people.”
— Josef Škvorecký
“A novel of action, full of strong, uncommon emotion and logical, natural pathos. Everything races quickly toward the end. The means of presentation are so expressive that we get the feeling we may be overhearing the words of the characters themselves.”
— MF Dnes