Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Top 10 Works of Art,
Music and Literature
The Trial
The protagonist Joseph K.
of Kafka's 1925 novel finds
himself accused of a crime he
did not commit.
The Castle
Kafka worked on this
novel of social alienation
while living in Prague Castle's
Golden Lane (see p9) .
Adventures of the
Good Soldier ◊vejk
Ha√ek was so effective in
sending up the army and the
Austro-Hungarian empire that
Czechs still have a hard time
taking authority seriously.
Antonin Dvo∫ák
Antonin Dvo∫ák
Dvo∫ák's works, such as his
Slavonic Dances , regularly
incorporate folk music. He
composed his final symphony
From the New World while he
was director of the National
Conservatory in New York City.
Slavonic Epic
Art Nouveau master Alfons
Mucha celebrates the Czech
mythic past in this artwork.
R.U.R.
≥apek's science-fiction
play is a study of labour rela-
tions and social structures.
Bohumil Hrabal
The poetic author used to sit
in the Old Town pub U Zlatého
tygra (see p60) , taking down the
stories he heard there. He died
falling from his hospital-room
window in 1997.
Grandmother
Author Bo≈ena N∂mcová
based the narrator on her own
grandmother, from whom she
heard many of these stories.
Vltava
Smetana's My Country are
six tone poems celebrating
Bohemia. The second follows
the river's course.
Václav Havel
The Czech president was
known as a playwright before he
became a civil rights activist
protesting the Warsaw Pact
invasion in 1968 (see p35) . His
absurdist works and his fame
helped draw international atten-
tion to his country's struggles.
From the New World
With his 1893 ninth sym-
phony, Dvo∫ák incorporated
the style of black folk songs.
Disturbing the Peace
Havel meditates on
Communism and the values
underlying Central Europe's
pursuit of democracy.
Milan Kundera
Czechs have a love-hate
relationship with their best-
known contemporary author.
Since his emigration to Canada,
Kundera has had little to do with
his native country, even writing
his novels in French. His works
convey a comic skepticism.
The Unbearable
Lightness of Being
Kundera's non-linear tale of
love, politics and the betrayals
inherent in both.
45
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