Temn eka (2026)

In this Czech-language novel, Ping Lu uses a real event and period documents to portray the inner worlds of two women at the centre of a double-murder case: the accused and one of her victims. Excerpts from contemporary documents interrupt the thoughts and inner monologues of both women, creating a vivid mosaic enhanced by courtroom speeches, the accused womans statements, the opinions of her acquaintances, societys reactions and passages from texts of the period. These elements disrupt the flow of the narrative, both thematically and visually, introducing another perspective through the reactions of those around them. In her distinctive style, Ping Lu writes about a dark river that may be hidden within each of us, presenting it in an unusual way and against the appealing, somewhat exotic background of Taiwanese society, distant to Czech readers. Yet the desires shaking the characters can just as easily concern us and our own society, with a catalysing effect.