A novelistic lesbian coming-out attracted the interest of media and readers who would otherwise remain completely ignorant of the author. A lesbian relationship endows the novel with an ingredient of arousal hitherto unknown in the Czech literary canon, at least not this explicitly. When Lucie meets the provocative Magda, her life collapses to an extent she hasn’t even begun to imagine, and which parallels those in the famous cases of Mann’s Professor Unrat or Nabokov’s Humbert Humbert. Her coming out brings her no relief — euphoric moments are quickly followed by a hangover, the change in sexual orientation becoming not only a present, but also a burden in the relationships with many other people with whom Lucie’s life has been connected. Brabcová constructs her story almost like a thriller with a secret: gradually taking shape and gaining tempo, escalating into a dramatic finale…

“The media response was still mostly from ‘people of literature’ who did not forget to notice the artistic level of ‘The Year of the Pearls’. And so the desired miracle happened, that an attractive, titillating theme drew attention to the literary qualities of the work.”

— iLiteratura

“‘The Year of Pearls’ is a very moving confession of the protagonist, a short period of her life intervened by passionate love. Her flare-ups, the fading of it, and the hatred into which it grew gradually emerge before the reader. The method the author has chosen is very effective, managing to draw the reader into the mental processes of Lucia, who is exposed to the destructive effects of surprising emotion and alcohol.”

— Vaše literatura

“‘The Year of Pearls’ by Zuzana Brabcova was one of the most read Czech novels at the turn of the millennium. A cult book with the reputation of the first Czech lesbian novel”

— Radio Vltava

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