Czech literature in crisis

In an essay, Ondřej Horák writes that Czech literature has been in a state of crisis since the "fall of communism". "How long must Czech literature continue to cite Hašek's 'Schwejk', even though it is undoubtedly a great novel? ... Even the books of commercially successful writers like Michal Viewegh or Halina Pawlowská never sell as many copies as were sold of books by Bohumil Hrabal or Milan Kundera. Today's authors sell no more than a couple of hundred copies of their books. This is partly a result of a loss of skill, of the ability to tell a story, portray heroes and create lively dialogues. The new books are often experimental in nature. Yet a novel does not only belong to the author, it also belongs to the readers."

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