euro|topics - Ondřej Horák

01/12/2008

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Horák, Ondřej

3 articles of this author have been cited in the European Press Review so far.

Lidové noviny - Czech Republic | 10/10/2008

A Nobel Prize for authors of bestsellers?

The conservative newspaper Lidové Noviny approves of the decision to award the Nobel Prize in Literature to French writer Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio in view of the quality of his works. But nonetheless the daily speculates on whether one of the world's internationally best-selling authors does not also deserve to win the prize for once. "Normal people ... experienced the same reaction as last year (with Doris Lessing): 'Who's that? Have you ever read one of her books?' ... No one can force the committee in Stockholm to honour people who cater to the tastes of the masses. But perhaps [one could select] people who not only write beautifully but whose books are read in all corners of the world. However, the next question would be: Are there still such authors nowadays?"

Lidové noviny - Czech Republic | 04/09/2008

Literary magazine up for sale

The well-established Czech literary magazine Literární noviny is for sale. Founded in 1927, the publication was particularly popular at the end of the 1960s during Prague Spring. After the fall of communism it became the literary supplement of the conservative newspaper Lidové noviny, which has no illusions about the upcoming sale: "After 1990 the magazine depended too much on its legend and lost contact with the present. It became boring. Editor in chief Jakub Patočka wanted to situate it somewhere between culture and politics. But people read it for the literature and soon grew weary, and no new readers came to take their place. Today the significance of the magazine has dropped to around zero. And so it pays the price. But perhaps someone will turn up who is willing to put his money into this venerable publication a give it a good dusting off."

Lidové noviny - Czech Republic | 16/05/2008

Czech literature in crisis

In an essay, Ondřej Horák writes that Czech literature has been in a state of crisis since the "fall of communism". "How long must Czech literature continue to cite Hašek's 'Schwejk', even though it is undoubtedly a great novel? ... Even the books of commercially successful writers like Michal Viewegh or Halina Pawlowská never sell as many copies as were sold of books by Bohumil Hrabal or Milan Kundera. Today's authors sell no more than a couple of hundred copies of their books. This is partly a result of a loss of skill, of the ability to tell a story, portray heroes and create lively dialogues. The new books are often experimental in nature. Yet a novel does not only belong to the author, it also belongs to the readers."

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