Fish blood

In the book Fish Blood, Jiří Hájíček found his big theme. The České Budějovice native has been familiar with the stories of people whose homes had to give way to the construction of the Temelín nuclear power plant since he was young. His mother's family even came from Purkarec, which was partially flooded by the Vltava River after the construction of the dam supplying water for Temelín. He was able to see the atmosphere of the dying villages with his own eyes, he found the factual basis by examining contemporary materials, and he heard specific stories from the witnesses scattered around the prefabricated housing estates after the demise of their homes.

He has written a powerful story about the loss of roots and the futile struggle against a nuclear power plant (futile regardless of the ruling regime), but also about family relationships torn apart and damaged in unkind times. After years abroad, Hana returns home to meet some of the important people of her youth. Family, childhood friends, old loves - these encounters bring back memories, but they all seem to have a shadow over them, which is lifted only at the very end of the book. And it's not just about building a power plant; Alongside the big drama of disappearing villages, there are many smaller private dramas, whose roots go deep into the past. Jiří Hájíček has once again proved that he can captivate the reader from the first to the last page. As in his previous books, The Thieves of the Green Horses or The Peasant Baroque (Magnesia Litera for Best Prose), he writes about ordinary people he knows well and follows their stories with understanding and compassion, this time sovereignly straddling two time planes.

If you want, you can read Fish Blood as a suspenseful mystery; Those looking for a rural novel at its best will not be disappointed; Those who are curious about the reflection of the great social changes at the turn of the 1980s and 1990s and their consequences will find it in Fish Blood. Jiří Hájíček's best novel so far rightly won the 2013 Magnesia Litera Book of the Year award.

length: 5 hours 15 minutes