This rediscovered masterpiece captures a chilling moment in the stifling early days of Communist Czechoslovakia.
1950s Prague is a city of numerous daily terrors, of political tyranny, corruption and surveillance. There is no way of knowing whether one s neighbor is spying for the government, or what one s supposed friend will say under pressure to a State Security agent. A loyal Party member might be imprisoned or executed as quickly as a traitor; innocence means nothing for a person caught in a government trap. When a little boy is murdered at the cinema, the ensuing investigation...

The oral history of a renowned Czech writer, whose optimism and faith in people survived grueling experiences under authoritarian regimes.