Zuzana Brabcová (1959-2015) is one of the most remarkable Czech authors of recent decades. Her first novel Daleko od stromu (Far From the Tree)) from 1984, when Czechoslovakia was still under communist rule, could only be published underground and later abroad by the Czech exile publishing house Index. Because of this remarkable book, the Jiri Orten Award (for young writers) was founded and Brabcová was the first laureate in 1987. When the novel was later, after 1989, officially published it made a big impression.

In the years that followed, she wrote several other novels, including Rok perel (The Year of Pearls) in 2000 about a lesbian relationship. She received the Magnesia Litera for her novel Stropy (Ceilings) and her latest novel Voliéry (Aviaries) was awarded the Josef Skvorecky Award. All her books excel for their beautiful and inventive use of language and for their high literary quality. A profoundly original author who was not content with writing superfluous stories. She always dug deep and did not shy away from tackling life’s big themes and drawing on her own experiences, including psychiatric rehabs. And always she poured her stories into the most exquisite form of poetic language. Real literature.

The Midnight Patient was also adapted for a film. Unfortunately, however, it became a screwball comedy with Peter Ustinov in one of the leading roles.

On his own work, Hostovský said: “During my life, I have witnessed activities of great personalities and been touched by great historical events. I am able to talk about Joseph Stalin and Billy Graham; I saw in person Nikita Kruschev shoulder to shoulder with President Eisenhower, and I even saw and heard Elvis Presley; I can talk about the astronauts and the Beatles, about war in South Asia and the remarriage of Elizabeth Taylor. Haunted by all these experiences, I have tried, independent of psychiatrists, to find a key to our difficult times and to build in my literature a place of spiritual safety for myself and my readers.”

Novels

Daleko od stromu (Far From the Tree)
Index, Köln – Československý spisovatel, Prague (1984/1991)

Zlodějina (Mishistory)
Československý spisovatel, Prague (1995)

Rok perel (The Year of the Pearls)
Garamond, Prague – Druhé město, Brno (2000/2012)

Stropy (Ceilings)
Druhé město, Brno (2012)

Voliéry (Aviaries)
Druhé město, Brno (2012/2016)