The Miracle Game (originally Mirákl) is a Czech novel by Josef Škvorecký published in 1972 by Sixty Eight Publishers in Toronto, Canada. It was translated into English in 1990 by Paul Wilson, and according to The Times is Skvorecky's masterpiece.[1] It was his response to Prague Spring events of 1968 Czechoslovakia.[2] and contains unflattering references to real people, Future Czech President Václav Havel becomes "the world-famous playwright Hejl", the writer Vladimír Páral appears as the "gifted non-party novelist Nabal".[3]
Plot introduction
editIn a Bohemian church in 1948 an apparent miracle is denounced as a hoax by the Communist party. Danny Smiricky (the hero of Škvorecký's 1977 novel The Engineer of Human Souls who also appeared in the previous novel "The Cowards")[4] was present at the church but slept through the event. Twenty years later the case is re-examined during the Prague Spring.[3]
References
edit- ^ 1992 Faber & Faber paperback edition front cover
- ^ Mirákl - Josef Škvorecký | KOSMAS.cz - vaše internetové knihkupectví Retrieved 10th Aug 2014.
- ^ a b from Publishers Weekly Retrieved 10th Aug 2014.
- ^ Lehmann-Haupt, Christopher (7 February 1991). "Books of The Times; Tricks, Miracles and Consequences". The New York Times – via NYTimes.com.
External links
edit- Books of The Times; Tricks, Miracles and Consequences, by Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, New York Times, Published: February 7, 1991.
- Kirkus Reviews
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