Hands of a violinist

Alena Ježková's sensitive depiction of the 20th century can successfully fit in with the current trend of female authors Mornštajnová and Lednická, who carefully and without exaggerated sentimentality explore Czech identity and the past.

In seven loosely linked short stories, whose protagonists are members of five generations of the fictional Schiller family, the author masterfully depicts how historical events are reflected in personal lives.

We follow this line from the trenches of World War I through the developing industry of the Czechoslovak Republic, the Nazi occupation and the associated Holocaust, the counting of losses after the war and the rise of communism, to the invasion of the "Brotherhood" troops in August 1968. The story of the Schiller family concludes in London in 2005 with the renowned violin virtuoso's search for his own roots.

Writer Alena Ježková (1966) has nearly twenty books to her credit, many of which have won domestic and international awards. The two-part book about the past and present of domestic monasteries, Silent Heart, or the suggestive pilgrimage diary, Three Journeys to Santiago, were very well received. The author presents the history of Prague in the titles 77 Prague Legends and Guardians of Prague Streets. She has made her mark in literature for children and youth with books such as The Lion Walks Through Prague, Dragon Soup, Old Czech and Moravian Tales and Tales of Czech Princes and Kings.

Illustration: Michaela Kukovičová