Description
Book SynopsisA sweeping history of a twentieth-century Prague torn between fascism, communism, and democracywith lessons for a world again threatened by dictatorshipPostcards from Absurdistan is a cultural history of Prague from 1938, when the Nazis destroyed Czechoslovakia's artistically vibrant liberal democracy, to 1989, when the country's socialist regime collapsed after more than four decades of communist party rule. Derek Sayer shows that Prague's twentieth century, far from being a story of inexorable progress toward some end of history, whether fascist, communist, or democratic, was a tragicomedy of recurring nightmares played out in a land Czech dissidents dubbed Absurdistan. Situated in the eye of the storms that shaped the modern world, Prague holds up an unsettling mirror to the absurdities and dangers of our own times. In a brilliant narrative, Sayer weaves a vivid montage of the lives of individual Praguerspoets and politicians, architects and athletes, journalists and filmmakers, a
Trade Review"Winner of the Canadian Jewish Literary Award for Scholarship"
"Finalist for the PROSE Award in European History, Association of American Publishers"
"Necessary." * Library Journal starred review *
"Fascinating and capacious,
Postcards from Absurdistan surveys Prague’s anguished recent past, raising concerns for its future amid new global conflicts and challenges." * Foreword Reviews *
"Intriguing. . . . Covering literature, the graphic arts, music, philosophy, architecture, and photography, Sayer profiles a staggering cast of artists and intellectuals." * Publishers Weekly *
"Informative and illuminating."
---Alena Dvořáková, Dublin Review of Books"[A] kaleidoscopic romp across five decades of intellectual, artistic, cultural, and political foment and creativity in Prague, from the Nazi Anschluss to the collapse of communism. . . . The book offers a magnificent and expansive collection of close readings, insightful narratives, obscure gems, and sometimes-funny, sometimes-wrenching reflections on Prague's cultural elites. . . .
Postcards from Absurdistan represents the crowning achievement of Professor Sayer's prodigious scholarship on Czech modernity." * 2023 Canadian Jewish Literary Awards jury citation *
