Forest

A silent trio - Finger, Little and Daughter - wanders through the frozen forest. The world around them is hostile and dangerous. The pilgrims try to avoid all possible predators and their journey resembles a dance in a minefield. Prst is haunted by memories of his childhood, when people on the streets began to disappear like soap bubbles, when even his parents disappeared as if they had never existed. Soon he understood that something bad had happened to the world and different rules had begun to apply than before. Morality and conscience have turned into empty concepts, force and cruelty are the decisive factors. To survive, he had to adapt as a young boy. Today he knows that it is deadly to speak out and that the world is full of traps. Therefore, he now communicates with his wife and child only through sign language.

 As the trio walk through the deserted landscape, Finger tells Daughter with gestures about the conveniences of "normal life", about the deals, restaurants, statues, underground garages, credit cards... But even to him, it sounds like a pipe dream. It is time to return to the roots of life in the forest. But how to stand in a harsh environment without turning into an animal yourself? And where did they all go?

 The destination of the harrowing journey is a remote wetland, a safe haven to provide protection and sustenance for the pilgrims. On their way to it, however, they are driven into the City, whose inhabitants are believed to be insidious, and whose others are thought to be savages, capturing and killing them. Yet there is nothing to do but plunge into the dark labyrinth of the streets...

 Mark Baros' debut novel, written in original and rich language, is full of suspense and unexpected twists. In two storylines, the author reflects on the transformation of human norms in harsh living conditions and how these conditions shape our thinking and acting from childhood to adulthood. At the same time, he asks how civilized our world is today and whether we can find any parallels with the world of his fictional story.

Marek Baroš

He was born in 1973 in Valašské Meziříčí, where he still lives and works. For the last six years he has been the theatre and programme dramaturge of the local M-Club. He is devoted to literature, theatre and in his free time to visual arts. His Tales from the Dump (2021) has been published in book form and in two theatrical adaptations.