Gottland: Mostly True Stories from Half of Czechoslovakia
Praise forGottland"Gottland offers an indelible account of the ravages of  20th-century totalitarianism and the way it continues to pollute human  thought and behavior in the 21st century."--The New York Times"The relationship between art and politics is a running theme, with due  reverence for those who kept their integrity. Szczygiel’s absorbing,  offbeat history celebrates the truths they defended against oppression."--Financial Times"Extraordinary...Gottland is one of the funniest books I have read — and  one of the shrewdest — about what it was like to live under fascism and  communism, the experience of so much of Europe in the last century. It  is not about Czechoslovakia or Poland or even limited to Mitteleuropa,  but about how one copes with tyranny and corruption and preserves a  conscience… Important and enjoyable."--The Spectator"The absurd details of the stories in this collection are presented  with such wry insouciance that it’s easy to forget (even with the book’s  explicit subtitle) that this is a work of non-fiction... It’d be a work  of dark comedy if it weren’t, but as it stands, Szczygiel’sGottlandis something altogether more devastating."--The Daily Beast“An intelligent, captivating, and much-needed book.”—Adam Michnik“A great book. Mariusz Szczygieł is well versed in the Polish school of reportage writing and he applies his method to this specific Czech ambiguity. Original and surprising.”—Agnieszka Holland“Extraordinary, hypnotizing, and disturbing tales.”—Libération“If you want to understand the Czech Republic in the twentieth century, readGottland.”—Frankfurter Allegemeine Zeitung“One of the most valuable and eloquent testimonies about the Czech people.”—Právo(Czech Republic)