There Is No Hell is a rich book. Current events and the turbulent times we live in today add an extra dimension to the story. You are constantly aware of the threats – war, populism, xenophobia, the

growing influence of Russia and China in society. Although sometimes described in a vivid and humorous way, the underlying tone is serious.

                But above all, it is a book about love and family. It is touching and frustrating to see how the main character, the journalist Tomáš, tries in a sincere but clumsy way to forge a father-son bond with his son  Jeroným. The blood bond is incredibly strong in the book on various levels. The father-son motif is often present in Topol’s work, but with this book there is now a shift. No longer is the perspective of the son leading (see Night Work, Gargling with Tar, The Devil’s Workshop), but that of the father. In that sense, There Is No Hell fits beautifully into Topol’s oeuvre.

                The richness of the book is also evident in its evocative reflections on religion, the Jesuits, Ignatius of Loyola, poetry, the essence of existence, human suffering, etc., which adds a special depth to the story.

                And as usual with Topol, the dialogues (between Tomáš and his colleagues and friends are of the highest quality: lifelike, humorous, and meaningful. One of the most beautiful conversations is that between Tomáš and an unknown priest after his father’s funeral, about the various images of the Madonna, faith (past and present), the loss of faith, and the meaning and function of faith. All this is done in a casual tone, but with meaning. An encounter like two ships passing in the night.

                All these elements ensure that Topol’s book makes you reflect. This is reinforced by Topol’s characteristic use of language, which uses all registers in a natural way, from poetic to vulgar. This book is a new milestone in Topol’s oeuvre. A “love story”, as he himself would call it, but one that is new and surprising.

“Are you looking for a novel that isn’t artistically bland and unbearably reverent toward Czech history? Jáchym Topol’s There Io No Hell returns to the day when COVID ended, as the war in Ukraine began. It is a contemporary novel and, at the same time, a much-needed one, as it offers an entertaining (self-)critique of the era since the Velvet Revolution.iew goes here”

— Lidové noviny

“It is a novel about disintegration, the impossibility of adapting, and the inevitable loss of everything that once had obvious value. It is also about the impossibility of stopping this process, which leads to a point where nothing remains […] But at the same time it is also a work of prose about the fear that an era marked by a complete loss of respect for values—as ushered in by the COVID era and the subsequent invasion of Ukraine—is not merely marginalizing a single generation, but threatening the very foundations of civilization. And in this regard, Jáchym Topol should perhaps be able to speak to other generations as well.

– Seznam Zprávy

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