Death makes us aware of our lives and that is where this book focuses on. The death of their father, forces the already grown-up children to focus on their own lives with all its trials and tribulations. Each in their own way reflect their father, how he has influenced their lives and how they cope now with his death

The story is not chronically told: time and perspectives are freely interchanging. There seems to be no order, but gradually a full picture emerges of a family of two generations who are all closely linked to each other. At first the outlines of the family and the family members are vague, but they become more and more clear, till finally a full picture emerges. Despite of living different lives, the same emotions are shared. It is about the relation of the children with their father and the relations between themselves, all provoked by the death of their father.

“This book is one of the strongest and most locked-in I have ever read”

— A2

“The eternal question is asked. Till what point are we children and when do we become adults? From the day we are eighteen? From the day we have children of our own. Or from the day we lose our parents?”

— Hospodářské noviny

“Balabán’s latest, almost chilling, novel is an incredibly honest account of life in extremis.”

— Jury Magnesia Litera

“It is autobiographical, painful and depressing, it reflects the past and the future, it has suspense, it is concise and pure”

— Reflex

Translations