Another year is almost over. For some of us, it’s been more successful than for others. We’re a bit older, a little wiser, and we gained new experiences. How could we assess the year 2018 from the literary point of view? We discovered new authors, fell in love with original books and stories, and broaden our horizons on different topics. For both readers and authors, this year has been a wild ride that’s all ready for another round.
Literary debutants
Every year goes by in a sign of new beginnings. In 2018, we were able to witness the start of the writing career of talented people who caught our attention and won our hearts. One of these authors is Josef König, who wrote the book Společnosti, published by Omega. It’s a collection of short stories, in which König talks about the condition of today’s society – how materialistic and cruel it can be at the same time. These stories are minimalistic and gently intertwined. The author’s approach and a view of the life of ordinary people are what makes the book special.
A 1.5m tall girl who is travelling across America on her own? On a motorbike? It might be hard to believe, but it really happened. Maybe you think that the girl is a brave traveller. Quite the contrary. She is afraid of everything. Dominika Gawliczkova bewitched our readers with her debut Dominika na cestě Jižní Amerikou (Dominika Travelling Through South America). Gawliczkova put her travel experiences in words and when it seems like nothing could go more wrong, she does what we Czechs can do the best – fights against it with humour.
Neobvyklý typ (něco málo povídek) (Uncommon Type) by an American Oscar-awarded actor Tom Hanks has been one of the most expected debuts this year. In the collection of 17 short stories, the author talks about important topics with ease. All stories are diverse, and you’ll meet many diverse characters with miscellaneous destinies. Short stories are both funny and melancholic, set-in different locations, and you’ll fall in love with them as much as we did.
Fans of detective stories had a field day as well. In her first work Ráj mrtvých dětí (Death of the Blue Flower), Roxann Hill takes you to a small German town, where mysterious murders of young people from a local diocese appear. You’ll also meet the main female character, beautiful detective Anna, who’s hired by a reverend and ecclesiastical investigator to solve these murders. Meanwhile, she’s also haunted by her own past. We couldn’t let this book out of our hands, and if crime stories are your cup of tea, this book is for you.
Do you love fantasy? Then you probably haven’t missed Dračí město by the Czech author Petra Machová. The main hero, the human girl Jana, is transformed into a lizard against her will. How is she going to deal with such a significant change in her life? If you enjoy reading fantasy and young adult literature, then this book can’t miss on your to-read list.
Another well-written debut is Ink: Tajemství kůže (Ink) by Alice Broadway. She remade our world, so every important event or decision appears on human skin as a tattoo. After death, the book is created from the inked skin. In that world, we meet Leora, whose father died. She believes that his story should be preserved forever. However, nothing is the way it seems to be. If you love fantasy, you shouldn’t miss this story.
Do you enjoy reading dark thrillers? Černooká by Anna Musilová bewitched us. Viktorie, a 17-yearold student, experiences her first love, argues with her friend and loves books. She seems to be a completely normal teenager, even though she’s a bit antisocial. However, she’s hiding her traumatic childhood and depression, which is getting more and more serious. Is Viktorie going to stay herself? Despite being a dark story, Černooká caught our attention. Usually, even though people show us their happy faces, we never know what worries they have.
Most expected books of 2018
Besides new authors, there were many popular authors who published new books in 2018 and made our bookshelves fuller than before. Are you a fan of crime, romance or comedy? With the variety of genres published, you’re bound to find a book you’ll love. Fans of crime happily welcomed another story of Chief Inspector Erika Forster by Robert Bryndza, this time called Do posledního dechu (Last Breath). The plot is fast-paced, and action moments take quick turns, so it’s hard to put the book down. Is Erika going to find the murderer who sets up fake profiles on Facebook and lures innocent girls into meetings?
After the success of the previous bestseller Za zavřenými dveřmi (Behind Closed Doors), B. A. Paris returned with another thriller, V pasti lží (The Breakdown). On a rainy night, when Cassy is returning home via the dark road, she sees a woman sitting in a car. She stops to see if the woman needs help. However, no one left the car, so she continues on her way home. In the morning, she finds out that there was a dead woman found in the car. Cassy feels guilty, and someone starts to spy on her. We loved this thriller. Have you read the book too?
Patrik Hartl, the author with an unmistakable laugh, published Nejlepší víkend in 2018. In the story, just like many of us, Andrea, Jirka, Dáša, Bert, Markéta and Pavel make New Year’s resolutions. Each of them wants to change their life. Can they do it? Read the story to find out. In this book, Patrik Hartl proves why he belongs among the most successful Czech authors.
Jojo Moyes, a popular author of romantic yet sad stories, doesn’t rest on her laurels either. This time, she takes us into the seaside town of Merham which is still recovering from the Second World War. A group of young bohemians move into the house on the beach, and other inhabitants are outraged. Young Lottie and her friends are attracted to these people. Jojo Moyes didn’t disappoint us with the book Zakázané ovoce (Windfallen) and showed us why she’s one of the most popular modern authors.
Books by Radka Třeštíková always belong between the most expected ones. In the book Veselí, we meet Eliška, who is 31 years old. She came to the dead-end in her life, and now she’s coming back to southern Moravia. Maybe she’ll find answers to her questions there. The writing of Radka Třeštíková is very gripping, and she knows how to play with the Czech language.
Also, Evžen Boček came back with another humoristic novel in 2018. He published the fourth book in the series about “the last aristocrat”, this time called Aristokratka a vlna zločinnosti na zámku Kostka. Despite the title of the book, we will not find there any murders, crimes or violence, only broken nails, slipped discs and Boček’s unique sense of humour.
In 2018, fans of fantasy or world literature weren’t disappointed either. Leigh Bardugo published Prohnilé město (Crooked Kingdom), where she returns to the thief and imposter Kaz Brekker. Readers have already met him in the book Šest vran (Six of Crows).
Maja Lunde, the author of the bestseller Historie včel (History of Bees), didn’t stay behind. Her new book Modrá (Blue) came into existence. Moreover, as the title suggests, it’s about the essential element of life on the Earth – water.
Sarah J. Maas made her fans happy with the sixth sequel of the series called Skleněný trůn (Throne of Glass), this time under the title Věž úsvitu (Tower of Dawn). Readers also got a new sequel of the series Dvůr trnů an růží (A Court of Thrones and Roses). The story Dvůr mrazu a hvězd (A Court of Frost and Starlight), where main characters work on the renovation of Noční dvůr and the world devastated by the war. The author proved her eye for detail in both stories.
There were great books for fans of the crime genre as well. Sarah Flint is a bit more unique than other authors. Why? She worked for the Metropolitan police for 35 years and built a successful career. She shows this experience in her books. In Sběratel trofejí (The Trophy Taker), Charlotte tries to solve a case of a murderer that tortures victims that he finds guilty. In the book Lháři, lháři (Liar Liar), the team of policemen gets into the complicated net of accusations and doubts during the murder investigation.
Literary phenomenons: What doesn't come out of the fashion
In the world of literature, 2018 belonged to Instagram, authors who have been writing for many years, and bestsellers. Readers fell in love with Instagram poetry, popularised mainly by authors like Atticus or Rupi Kaur. A globally successful collection of poems Love Her Wild by Atticus was published in the Czech translation. In his works, Atticus gets inspired by love, the female soul, wilderness, nature and freedom. He depicts small moments and thoughts, which make the world and human life so beautiful and extraordinary. Poems are also accompanied by photos, so it isn’t only joy for the soul, but eyes too.
Rupi Kaur, another Instapoet, astounded the world with her book Milk and Honey. The book is divided into four parts: Hurting, Loving, Breaking and Healing. It’s also a journey of her life. Her poems describe the way she dealt with pain and difficult situations in life. At the same time, she wants to support readers. Illustrations by the author make the book even more beautiful. Moreover, to bring you more good news, her next book, Sun and her flowers will be published in Czech by the beginning of the next year.
When Ester Geislerová and Josefina Bakošová set up an Instagram account where they share messages people send to break up with their partners, they became a sensation. Some break up sentences are so bizarre, that people just have to laugh at them. It’s also a form of therapy for people who were left by someone they loved. However, Terapie sdílením isn’t full only of these breakup sentences, but also texts by two authors, personal messages or essays by a media theorist Tomáš Dvořák.
The third novel by Alena Moštajnová called Hana caused a sensation in the Czech book market and was listed as a bestseller for the whole year. This beautiful yet painful story is based on real events. The author has a great sense of drama and building the plot, so you are breathless with anticipation, and it feels like you are watching a movie instead of reading a book.
Readers still love stories from the magical world of Harry Potter. These books were republished in the Czech translation, however, this time with beautiful illustrations. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them got attention as well. Thanks to this book, even us, ordinary muggles, can find out more about magical creatures from the world created by J. K. Rowling.
Readers also fell for literature with the theme of LGBT. In Call Me By Your Name, Aciman Andre talks about a strong love between a teenager Ellie and Oliver, who is a few years older. In the story, Love, Simon, Becky Albertalli introduces us to Simon, who is exchanging messages with mysterious Blue while their connection is getting stronger. In Muffin a čaj by Addaira Thea, we meet two sixteen-year-old classmates Daniel and Kit, who are so different at first sight, that it seems to be almost impossible that they could be friends or even more.
Of course, neither Stephen King, the master of horror himself, could not disappoint us. He published a very well written collection of short stories Černočerná tma (Full Dark, No Stars). He reminds readers how changeable the safety of everyday life can be. Sometimes we do not know what people closest to us, or even ourselves can do. In every one of us, there is hidden a stranger. Czech readers even got the translation of Kouzelná skříňka pro Gwendy (Gwendy’s Button Box). Despite Gwendy being 12 years old, she gets a box with different levers and buttons from a mysterious man. Now she has a much bigger responsibility than it seems.
The year 2018 was more than successful for the publishing industry. We got to know new authors and their debuts, new books from our favourite authors were published, and we could challenge our view of the world. Now we can be already looking for the year 2019 and hope that it will be at least half as successful as the previous one.
