česky  dansk  english 

Advanced search
na_celou_sirku
Photo: Jáchym Topol: The Devil´s Wokshop
Article notification Print Decrease font size Increase font size

Presentation of "The Devil's Workshop" by Topol and Čapek's "War with the Newts"

On 11 January 2019, the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Copenhagen arranged a presentation of the books The Devil's Workshop by J. Topol and War with the Newts by K. Čapek now available in Danish.

The evening started with the Czech Ambassador to Denmark Radek Pech welcoming the guests followed by a short musical performance by flute player Alexie Montalant. Author of The Devil's Workshop Jáchym Topol was present at the event together with the translator Lada Halounová and the representative of Silkefyret publishing house Allan Lillelund Andersen. After presentation of the book the author read a short sample from his book in Czech and later on the evening continued with a discussion on the identity of the Czech nation – a theme which has been touched by the read sample.

Afterwards, yet another musical performance took place, followed by presentation of the Danish translation of the famous book War with the Newts by Karel Čapek.

Presentation of the Danish translation of the book "The Devil´s Workshop" by Jáchym Topol

Presentation of the Danish translation of the book "The Devil´s Workshop" by Jáchym Topol

Since the late 1980s, Jáchym Topol (born 1962) is an active writer, composer and poet. After the Velvet Revolution, Topol became one of the most important writers of Czech modern prose, and each new novel meant a small cultural event. J. Topol has published more than 15 books, which were translated into several languages. His novel The Devil´s Workshop reflects history of the country while using specific Czech humour and a dose of surrealism.

In June 2018, the publishing house Silkefyret published a Danish translation of the novel. The story reaches from Terezin to Belarus. Young people from all over Europe are trying to understand the cruelties committed in the past. But is it possible after all? What does it take?