5min book review #19

A few personal notes on the 4 Škvorecký’s books

Value for Money

10/10

• Konec nylonového věku (1956)

End of the Nylon Age

• Zbabělci (1958)

The Cowards

• Tankový prapor (1969)

The Republic of Whores: A Fragment from the Time of the Cults

• Příběh inženýra lidských duší (1977)

Engineer of Human Souls

More than 5 sentences about more than 4books

Josef Škvorecký is considered one of the best Czech writers of the second part of the 20th century, alongside Milan Kundera, Bohumil Hrabal, and Václav Havel. I particularly enjoy his storytelling style, which is marked by a unique blend of distance and self-irony.

In 2023, I revisited a set of five books, and I’d like to share my notes. Please note that the book “Reading Detective Stories” (Nápady čtenáře detektivek, 1965) is not included in this review.

• In general, I prefer Škvorecký’s novels (The Cowards, The Miracle Game, Engineer of Human Souls) to his short stories. The standout among the books is The Miracle Game (published in 1972, excluded from this review, but I plan to revisit it in 2024). Following closely are Engineer of Human Souls and The Cowards.
• The protagonist in his novels, Danny Smiřický, makes his debut in The Cowards as a naive young boy eager for adventure at the onset of World War II. His mind is consumed by thoughts of sex, girls (particularly Irena), and jazz. The narrative reflects a wide-eyed openness and a bold critique typical of youth.
• I prefer the more mature portrayal of Danny in Engineer of Human Souls. The subtitle, Entertainment on old themes about life, women, destiny, dreams, the working class, coppers, love, and death, sprawls across 800 pages, constituting a feast within Western modern literature. In one narrative thread, we witness young Danny navigating the challenges of the end of World War II, grappling with romantic entanglements, and making a naive attempt at a terror attack. In the present storyline, Danny is a professor at the University of Toronto, facing a clash of opinions with his young students. It’s noteworthy that the “Old cat” — Danny — doesn’t engage in confrontations with the students. Instead, he empathetically and self-ironically reflects on these differences, and the narrator’s thoughts span across tens of pages.
• These reflections are priceless, and I suspect that’s why I find myself returning to this novel again and again; its hundreds of pages are like a warm blanket you want to wrap around yourself forever.
• I understand I might be treading on delicate ground, but I would argue that this distinction sets Škvorecký apart from Milan Kundera’s cold and academic writing. In contrast, while Hrabal was a renowned raconteur, Škvorecký is more moderate yet remains more accessible than Kundera.
• If you enjoy the works of David Lodge, a prolific writer in the “campus novels” genre, there’s a high likelihood that you will also find this book intriguing.
• The Cowards were written in 1948 but published ten years later. End of Nylon Age was written in 1950 and published six years later. This is the reason why the first appearance of Danny is in The Cowards and not in End of Nylon Age.
• Fun fact: not only is the main character — Danny — entangled in these three books (The Cowards, End of Nylon Age, Engineer of Human Souls), but the name of the femme fatale, Irena, remains consistent throughout all of them.
• I didn’t find the short novel End of Nylon Age particularly interesting. I suppose it’s my preference; I missed the expansiveness that a longer novel provides.
• After revisiting the book The Republic of Whores after many years, I found it quite dull. The lack of focus on Danny Smiřický is a significant drawback in Škvorecký’s writing. Instead, there’s more emphasis on army humor, which, in Škvorecký’s interpretation, feels somewhat outdated, in my opinion.