One of Jan Balabán’s earliest works in which he immediately shows himself to be a master of the short story.

Perhaps since the time of Jan Čep, Czech literature has lacked a writer who could capture the fleeting moods of the moment in a short story; to reveal the whole drama of human destinies by depicting seemingly insignificant events. “In the weariness of broken sleep, used things and silenced people, deep in the story, something always moves. From the useless to the futile. In the latter, one can live somewhat.” says critic and poet Petr Hruška about Balabán’s short stories.

“Balabán’s emphasis on the loss of the meaning of life and any values at all – no matter how much the affected subject is really responsible for it – sounds like a warning. A warning against the listless and desolate life of the idler, as well as against the similarly listless and desolate life of the sprinting workaholic. The short stories in ‘Holiday’ may be ‘harsh’ and perhaps even unpleasant; in the same breath, however, we must add that their overall message is humane. Balabán does not condemn people from the periphery of society to the periphery of thought; on the contrary, he puts them on the stage with understanding so that we can understand them. And not only them, perhaps also ourselves…”

— Vaše literatura

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