Father from Birth

August 2018, 188 pages

Available material: English sample

Rights sold: Poland (Stara szkola)

A young Bohemian Bukowski proves his exceptional talent.

Following on the success of his novella Cobain’s Disciples, this young Czech author has come out with another work, entitled Father from Birth. The hero is a dad expecting the birth of his first child, so he begins to write diary entries for this unknown being, describing his experiences at work and what he has seen and heard on the bus. However, new experiences associated with the expected offspring emerge from his everyday routine, as he follows developments on the web and in doctor’s offices, as well as his faint notions about the future, and his uncertainty over the unknown. Our dad makes earnest efforts, but he is definitely not a trendy self-confident father who takes parental leave and would breast-feed if he could. He feels that too many expectations are being placed upon him from all sides, and he is not sure he can handle them. This is the story of another of Pech’s heroes who feel out of place in the world, unable to psychologically acclimate to their surroundings, whether at home or at work. Miroslav Pech again proves his exceptional talent for listening and precisely reproducing language in all its stylistic registers. His book includes gender and social subjects, with raw existential feelings and fresh thoughts, but you can also just read it for fun.