Životopis černobílého jehněte

(Biography of a Black and White Lamb)

“‘Biography of the Black and White Lamb’ is an extremely impressive book with a distinctive and unflinching theme.”

— Mladá fronta DNES

About the Book
Original TitleŽivotopis černobílého jehněte
First Published2009
PublisherTorst Publishers, Prague
Pages340
Rights Sold
North MacedoniaAntalog – Skopje
CroatiaLjevak – Zagreb

Lucie and Václav are twins and they are colored, because their father is African and their mother Czech, who were both killed in a car accident. In a revealing story we follow the footsteps of these young siblings as they grow up. How they become aware they are different and are confronted with all sorts of prejudices, which they have themselves as well. Combined with all kind of small family stories and minor sidesteps the novel forms a mosaic of a period in time and a society. The theme of the book was for many readers and critics controversial.

The whole story seems to meander forth like a river to the point when it reaches one of the many surprising turns, like for instance the discovery that their mother still is alive. The author builds up the tension regularly and he very well gets under the skin of the reader. The tragic end of the book is one of the great highlights in the book, and perhaps in literature as a whole. It is so beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time that any reader will be moved by it. In short, a novel that has everything to become one the great classics of modern day literature. Grasping, compelling, funny, tragic, rich, and wonderfully written.

“Tomáš Zmeškal is able to portray the fragile relationships between the characters and the mutual love within and outside the family in an unusually delicate and unpretentious way.”

— iLiteratura

“‘Biography of a Black and White Lamb’ probably has no message, but it is powerful and effective. It is not easy to say why. Perhaps that is what makes it so extraordinary.”

— Hospodářské noviny

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