Pavel Bušta
Pavel Bušta (b. 1991) is a Czech poet, fiction writer and journalist. He has published two books of poetry, and his dramatization of a collection of short stories earned him a shortlist nomination for the Evald Schorm Award, an important prize in the world of Czech theater. His second short story collection was nominated in the prose category for the most prestigious book award in Czechia, the Magnesia Litera. He contributes to iLiteratura.cz, a major Czech literature portal, and serves as vice-chair of the Česká kniha (Czech Book) project, which promotes Czech literature abroad.
David Cajthaml (b. 1959) is a famous Czech musician, stage designer, costume designer, architect and painter. He studied architecture and scenography with the famed Josef Svoboda at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague. He is a renaissance personality par excellence; his activities do not recognize borders.
LoboTommy
August 2019, 104 pages
Refracted in a gleam of imagination, our world comes out strangely twisted
What goes on in a human’s brain after something as invasive as a lobotomy? The young Prague-based author’s new prose balances between a modern, psychedelic fairytale and a dystopian novella. The young narrator, LoboTommy, is a mental asylum resident with a long scar from his head surgery. His only friends are a red spider in dark sunglasses, and Darja– a girl with a tear-duct malfunction that causes her to cry maple syrup, precious pearls and other strange objects. The three friends set out on a fantastic journey toward freedom, and the recognition of what is and isn’t real. LoboTommy is beautifully illustrated by the Czech artist David Cajthaml.
“In his descriptions of an alternative reality, Pavel Bušta’s playfulness falls somewhere between Lewis Carroll and Tolkien […] his imagination and LSD-infused humor betray some Irvine Welsh influence, too.”
“How far in his imagination will an author go in the pursuit of the most unexpected world possible? He will only succeed under one condition: he must be more insane than any reader.”
– Host
