Chvn je nadje – Zznamy od bezna 2021 do zatku vlky v noru 2022 Hvala Karel (2022)

This Czech-language book collects Karel Hvalas diary-like records from March 2021 to the beginning of the war in February 2022. The journalist and essayist, known especially for his interviews with important figures from Czech political and cultural life, turns inward once again, as he did in his earlier book A Sentence as a Calling/Remembrances. Over less than a year, he records intimate private thoughts and memories against the background of domestic and international events escalating towards Russias fatal invasion of Ukraine and war. Current press reports on the domestic pre-election and post-election situation alternate with information about the ongoing pandemic, rising tension on the international scene and seemingly picturesque details from the media. The mosaic is accompanied by the authors commentaries, impressions and, in part, correspondence with people close to him. Together, these entries form a vivid picture of the state of the authors private planet and of the wider world around it.