Carousel World

Author Otomar Dvořák, writer of many popular historical novels (including the famous Vřeteno osudu, or Spindle of Fate), presents his life's work, the introduction to which he began writing at the age of seventeen – and has only now completed, on the cusp of his seventy-fifth birthday.

This three-part saga captures the dramatic fates of four generations of his ancestors, who lived in the forested highlands of the Křivoklát region and made their living by making rope. It describes the revolutionary period between 1890 and 1950, in which everything changed from the ground up and the old world of folk traditions was shattered by the onslaught of the modern, technical age, as well as by wars and historical upheavals.

Through the author's distinctive perspective and lively storytelling, the reality of everyday life intertwines with magic, life turns into myth, Death stands as a godmother over cradles, and crazily grotesque stories sometimes end fatally.

The descendants of the mad wanderer and fantasist Maxmilián are carried by the fateful Carousel to all corners of Bohemia and abroad; they face onslaughts of passion and hatred, are victims of violence and intrigue, yet tirelessly fight for their place in the world and for the right to love.

This captivating saga can be boldly compared to Gabriel García Márquez's world-famous novel, One Hundred Years of Solitude. It will grab you – and never let go…