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Editorial Review:
More innovative fiction from the critically esteemed Slouka (God's Fool, 2002, etc.): a subtle, nimble novel that's part fictional memoir, part literary thriller/romance.The American child of Czech-born Anton'n and Ivana, our unnamed narrator grows up amid affection but also enduring mystery. He eavesdrops on his parents' get-togethers with fellow emigres, revels in their folktales and anecdotes of Czechoslovakia, but increasingly wonders about the nagging lacunae. Most of all, he's vexed by his mother's implacable sadness and intrigued by Anton'n's quiet acceptance of it. Ivana eventually commits suicide, and her 37-year-old son goes to Czechoslovakia, armed with clues, artifacts and snippets he hopes will help him make sense of himself by making sense of his parents. Here the text takes an odd, delightful turn. Balked in his effort to unearth facts, the narrator turns to fiction. In the book's second half, he invents a love triangle involving his parents and a member of the Czech Resistance. Tomas was, in this imagining, one of the partisans who in 1942 assassinated notorious Nazi Reinhard Heydrich, Reichsprotektor of Czechoslovakia, and then hid in a catacomb, waiting for an opportunity to escape while the Nazis massacred their countrymen in reprisal. Marred only slightly by the romance's hokey, fairytale quality, this love song to the narrator's parents is deftly structured, lyrical and earnest.An eloquent testament to the power of storytelling. (Kirkus Reviews)
`A haunting and cleverly constructed narrative'
'The Visible World has the intensity of a thriller combined with exquisite and moving literary prose'
A profoundly moving and compelling story of romantic heroism.
Slouka triumphs
Superbly written...Packs an emotional punch
Talks about a doomed romance full of feeling and fervour that plays itself out in the heat of the Nazi occupation of Prague and then smoulders in the embers for decades before flaring into life again, thousands of miles away, with incendiary effects.
This is a story about memory and concealed histories, and about the way that the most fiercely-held secrets of the past eventually force their way to the surface. It begins with a boy, the child of Czech immigrants to the US, who is brought up hearing the ancient myths, and the folktales of his parents' homeland. As he grows older, he becomes aware that the one story he hasn't been told is what his parents did during the war. It is only as an adult, when he makes a journey back to Czechoslovakia, that he discovers their part in the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, the notorious 'butcher of Prague'.
Embedded at the heart of this gripping history is a powerful love story - of a tragic passion and an enduring commitment. Plotted with all the intensity of a thriller, The Visible World is immediately involving, and a novel to delight on every level - intellectual, literary and emotional.
Mark Slouka is a contributing editor at Harper's, and the author of one previous novel, God's Fool, and a collection of short stories, Lost Lake.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 3.5 / 5.0
Memories from Another World The story itself is not remarkable, although it is intriguing. A young man's childhood memories as he tries to piece together the story of his parents' past. Memories of his American childhood, interspersed with tales of wartime horrors and escapades in Czechoslovakia, a real love affair that's doomed from the beginning, plus the memories of those living in exile as a result of the war. What does make this novel remarkable is the way in which it's written - the reading of it can be likened to partaking of a... more info
vivid memories of second generations This book is not for readers who expect a straight narrative, but for everyone who enjoys an emotive and beautiful writing. For some reason i thought it was an autobiography as the vivid images of central European culture, people and places were so true and beautifully described. It felt like flicking through old photographs of a family that you did not really know, but whose story you had the privilage to peep into. Very very lovely.
Unmissable I simply cannot understand the negative reviews here, unless they have been written by youngsters who are not yet sophisticated enough to appreciate it. This is an absolutely magnificent book that works on several levels. Unlike many novels today, it is beautifully written but is also incredibly easy to read and tells a gripping and tragic story. The first part is a memoir with the narrator telling of his childhood growing up in the USA as the child of immigrants who have not told him everything about their... more info
Moments of beauty A man looks back at the lives of his parents and the events in the second world war that brought them together. A beautifully composed narrative at its best when describing the natural surroundings in which the events of the story take place. The tenderness and understanding of the writing is beautiful and evocative, the characterisation is detailed and sensitive. It's a book which needs to be read more than once, one which needs to be read and read again to allow the details to sink in. Yet, even so, I... more info
