The Boundaries of Twilight: Czecho-Slovak Writing From the New World (Many Minnesotas Project, No 6)
![The Boundaries of Twilight: Czecho-Slovak Writing From the New World (Many Minnesotas Project, No 6)]()
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List Price:
$17.95
Czech Hotels Travel Price: $17.95
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Availability: Usually ships in 12 to 13 days
Manufacturer: New Rivers Press
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 810.8089186
EAN: 9780898231212
ISBN: 0898231213
Label: New Rivers Press
Manufacturer: New Rivers Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 354
Publication Date: 1996-01-01
Publisher: New Rivers Press
Studio: New Rivers Press
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Editorial Reviews:
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poetry, fiction, non-fiction writings
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Not the best of the bunch
Comment: Once the Iron Curtain was lifted, several anthologies of contemporary Czech literature came out. One of the earliest, published in 1991, is this one published by New Rivers Press in Minnesota. It is an odd compilation simply because many of its 30-some contributors are not of Czech origin nor even write on Czech or European themes! Rather, BOT is from "the North American Czechoslovak community of writers" (whatever that is supposed to be). One good thing in the book is the intro by editor CJ Hribal who does a nice job summing up the eclectic and diverse character of the former Czechoslovakia and its' proud history. But why include a short story written by someone named L. Pappeno whose only claim to Czech/Slovak roots is a "Czech grandmother" (according to her contributor bio)especially when this story ("her first published story") has nothing to do with the former Czechoslovakia or its culture? There are several such perplexities through this volume penned by American natives who seemingly have no connection with anything European. I liked the obligatory piece, though, by Skvorecky and I did get my first sampling of the much-heralded Jaroslava Blazkova whose short story "Circe" combines the oft-used Czech elements of fantasy and realism. I liked the poignant "Ma's Dictionary" by Milan Kovacovic, too. There is likewise an obligatory piece by Skvorecky's wife, Zdena Salivora whose work seems to appear in any volume that his does. But why the short story "Texas Baby" by someone named Joyce Kehoe, described in the contrib's notes as "one quarter Czech?" There are three sets of B&W photos in BOT. In the first set, there are some great photos of a party in Moravia, former communist officials and mountain shots of what I presume are the Tatras. There is a great photo showing the grieving masses at the 1948 funeral of ex-President Edward Benes, but then by the third set of photos, all coherence vanishes. A picture of candymakers in Afghanistan, a Freemason, a Pakistani and a Swede having coffee and then some bleak shots of a deteriorating part of New York City...these photos make as much sense as "Texas Baby." On a more positive note, I liked the short pieces by Americans (?) Meehl and Martin and the two pieces by Pat Hampl, the longer one from her Romantic Education and the shorter from her later novel about Dvorak. As a big fan of Czech writer Iva Pekarkova, I was tickled to discover an excerpt from her 1994 novel Truck Stop Rainbows, which had not yet been published in English at the time of this anthology. The notes describe the excerpt as "coming from her forthcoming novel "Feathers and Wings" (a nice bit of trivia here for IP fans. This alone would be worth buying the book!) So if you're looking for an anthology of Czech writing, better look elsewhere. BOT has some good points--I appreciate the brevity of the selections and the first two sections of photos--but many of the works are simply nonsensical.
Customer Rating:
Summary: At last! Writings from the Czech-Slovak American experience
Comment: At last! An anthology of writings from the Czech-Slovak experience
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