So Much Ash

February 2022 | 312 pages | samples EN/DE

Štindl’s best novel to date unfolds in Prague during the pandemic and was nominated for the 2023 EU Prize for Literature

Kryštof, an aging writer and translator, finds himself at a crossroads when he meets Kristýna, a young left-wing intellectual, and shortly after, Kamil, a guru mysteriously connected to Kryštof’s late sister. As the pandemic reshapes life and the threat of global collapse feels more imminent than ever, Kryštof faces what might be a “personal apocalypse,” haunted by melancholy, grotesque visions, intrusive memories, and dark premonitions. He becomes a reluctant participant in a story that could amount to a profound revelation, a cruel cosmic joke–or a tale of love.