Oh, Hrabal...what a guy.

Slavic literature is beautiful. Always tinged with tragedy--they are always brilliantly written and strangely comedic.

Contrary to popular belief, I am actually going to school here in Prague. The trips to budapest and the endless hours of exploring probably hint otherwise. But alas, you doubters, I do in fact attend classes for 3.5 hours a day...and yes, they require me to be literate. Which is wonderful. I will take the excuse to read these gorgeous Slavic greats anyday...especially in the city they are born from. Can you say dorky? Yes, please.

One such author is Bohumil Hrabal.



I think it fitting to preface my Budapest extravaganza entry with the author that accompanied me on the busride there. Anyone who has their backcover picture with a "pivo" in their hand is worth your time...but that is besides the point. Weighing in at under a hundred pages, "Too Loud a Solitude" was a perfect pick for the busride through the Slovakian countryside.



The premise was very unique; A lover of books who spends his last thirty-five years as a wastepaper compacter in a dank celler destroying what he truly loves. Living a near solitary life, Hanta's story is told cyclically through moments and masterpieces. At times truly tragic, others ironic, and always beautiful...I highly reccomend it. Here are some great quotes that I marked while reading that I think speak for themselves...

"Because when i read, I don't really read; I pop a beautiful sentence into my mouth and suck it like a fruit drop, or i sip it like a liqueur until the thought dissolves in me like alcohol, infusing brain and heart and coursing on through the veins to root of each blood vessel"

"I can be by myself because I'm never lonely, I'm simply alone, living in my heavily populated solitude, a harum-scarum of infinity and eternity, and Infinity and Eternity seem to take a liking to the likes of me."

"...the only thing on earth worthy of fear is a situation that is petrified, congealed, or dying, and the only thing worthy of joy is a situation where not only the individual but also society as a whole wages a constant battle for self-justification."

"...but then I realized it was in her, the fire was in her, she couldn't live without fire."

"I always loved twilight; it was the only time I had the feeling that something important could happen"

I hope you enjoyed those and are able to put them in context by reading the whole book sometime.



I also reccommend seeing or reading "Closely Watched Trains" (closley observed trains) by Hrabal as well. The movie is famous in the Czech Republic and a wonderful film. I hope you don't mind subtitles.

And about the last entry--I promise, I don't hate America.
And...Budapest update soon. I had a test, so blogging has been on the backburner. I AM at school, remember?