Z ddiny a vinohrad – Vyprvn z Moravskho Slovcka Radvan Jaroslav (2015)

These stories are written in the spirit of classic folk tales, but their content and focus are intended for adults. The author draws inspiration from traditional fairy tales and fables, anecdotes and even religious texts, although most of the stories are entirely original. They were first written in dialect and later rendered in standard Czech; the use of direct and indirect speech and certain turns of phrase preserves their folk-like character, although the language does not correspond to any particular village dialect. The tales feature typical figures from former village life, including a wealthy farmer, a poor farmhand, a blacksmith, a miller, a priest and a sexton. Among the supernatural figures, devils appear most often. In Czech and Moravian rural tradition, the devil is not an embodiment of evil but an instrument of justice, punishing what deserves punishment and rewarding what merits reward. These Czech-language tales ask whether the last twenty-five years have changed anything about the appeal and need for stories in which good triumphs and evil is punished.