- Published: 10/09/1998
- ISBN: 9781862071018
- Granta Books
- 240 pages
Waiting For The Dark, Waiting For The Light
Ivan Klima
Translated by Paul Wilson
Waiting for the Dark, Waiting for the Light describes life before, during and after the cataclysm of 1989, the so-called Velvet revolution. It is the story of Pavel, a middle-aged television cameraman working uneasily within the boundaries set by the regime, who dreams of one day making a film- an uncut portrait of his times- the authorities will never allow. But after the collapse of communism, Pavel finds he is unprepared for this new world of supposedly unlimited freedoms.
£6.99
Although the book is about the Czech experience, it is of universal import. Klima has some searingly truthful things to say about the wretchedness of human mediocrity, but with its hint of surrealism and its wonderful black humour, it is immensely enjoyable.
Spectator
This is a very good novel. Klima writes of uncertainly with authority, an authority all the greater because it does not pretend to offer answers.
Alan Massie, Scotsman
Klima's achievement lies in his human understanding of moral confusions and his sympathetic rendering of them, and especially in his ability to question while avoiding the polemical... an adroit, intelligent exploration of what happens when the impossible is won, only to be found wanting.
Eileen Battersby, Irish Times
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