Anděl v pekle (Angel in Hell)
| Title: | Anděl v pekle (Angel in Hell) |
| Author: | Zsolt Staník |
| Ilustrations and cover: | Zdeněk Netopil |
| Editor: | Dana Řezníčková |
| Graphical layout and typeset: | Veronika Jelenová |
| Publisher: | Zsolt Staník, Prague |
| Language: | Czech |
| First published: | 2012 |
| ISBN: | 978-80-904045-3-3 |
| 180 pages (printed version) | |
| Price | See purchase |
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About the book
The book contains nine stories — most of them funny —divided into three groups: Tales of a choleric, Dog tales, and Tales from Spain. The themes come from common life situations — from the medical environment and services in Tales of a choleric, from the narrations of the author’s Norwegian friends in Dog tales and from the observations of the author during his stay in Andalusia in Tales from Spain.
There are also two short novels: Peter and Pavel — the story of two contrasts, and An Angel in Hell — Betty, the story. The first novella is based on the author’s fantasy, even though the behaviour of the main characters — Peter, Pavel, Eva and Jana — can often evoke memories of persons and situations that the readers know from their own experience. Such qualities are the decorum, diligence, honesty, fair play and competence of Peter; the dishonesty, meanness, jealousy, irresponsibility and churlishness of Pavel; the complicated personal relations and love for poor children of Eva; and the fight for the equal social standing of women of Jana resulting in a threatened loss of her womanly tenderness.
An Angel in Hell is a very special story. Betty, the heroine, could easily be someone who, in post-war Britain, struggles and overcomes the adversities of life affecting family, employment, health, luck and children, to be finally reconciled with a world which turns out not to be so evil after all.