A play of reminiscence about the years 1965 to 1989, in which the author connects the important with the unimportant, the personal with the social, and which is also a kind of commentary on life in real socialism. Ouředník does not judge, explain or comment – he addresses those who shared the same feeling. His recollection takes place primarily in the realm of language, since language is both the first weapon of any totalitarianism and the only possible defense. At the same time, the ephemeral nature of these memories reveals the ridiculousness and obliviousness of what, not long ago, was the filling of our lives.

“Ouredník has put together a colourful kaleidoscope of the most diverse fragments, which he presents but does not comment on, as many of these tiny sequences speak for themselves: ‘I remember another newspaper headline: Our republic has both feet on the ground.’ Ouredník uses the anecdotal abbreviation from the retrospective as a stylistic device to expose the whole absurdity of a politically imposed reality. Quotes from the official press offer suitable opportunities for this and in this context Patrik Ouredník recalls political campaigns against the civil rights movement Charta 77, that ‘people were misled’ or ‘the counter-revolution was creeping’.”

— Lidové noviny

“Year Twenty-Four is a kind of self-portrait of a generation, of a country that reflects the history of the whole of Europe”

— L’Humanité

Translations