Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11037 in Books
• Published on: 2008-01-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Review
More innovative fiction from the critically esteemed Slouka (God's Fool, 2002, etc.): a subtle, nimble novel that's part fictional memoir, part literary thriller/romance.The American child of Czech-born Anton'n and Ivana, our unnamed narrator grows up amid affection but also enduring mystery. He eavesdrops on his parents' get-togethers with fellow emigres, revels in their folktales and anecdotes of Czechoslovakia, but increasingly wonders about the nagging lacunae. Most of all, he's vexed by his mother's implacable sadness and intrigued by Anton'n's quiet acceptance of it. Ivana eventually commits suicide, and her 37-year-old son goes to Czechoslovakia, armed with clues, artifacts and snippets he hopes will help him make sense of himself by making sense of his parents. Here the text takes an odd, delightful turn. Balked in his effort to unearth facts, the narrator turns to fiction. In the book's second half, he invents a love triangle involving his parents and a member of the Czech Resistance. Tomas was, in this imagining, one of the partisans who in 1942 assassinated notorious Nazi Reinhard Heydrich, Reichsprotektor of Czechoslovakia, and then hid in a catacomb, waiting for an opportunity to escape while the Nazis massacred their countrymen in reprisal. Marred only slightly by the romance's hokey, fairytale quality, this love song to the narrator's parents is deftly structured, lyrical and earnest.An eloquent testament to the power of storytelling. (Kirkus Reviews)

Sunday Times
`A haunting and cleverly constructed narrative'

Publishing News
'The Visible World has the intensity of a thriller combined with exquisite and moving literary prose'

Customer Reviews

Slow
I found this book very hard going. Not one of my best reads. The story of a man who returns to his parents Czech homeland.Here he discovers the story of his Mothers true love during the war. Very sad and touching in places, and lots of references to the war. I only really enjoyed the last section of the book.

Memories from Another World
The story itself is not remarkable, although it is intriguing. A young man's childhood memories as he tries to piece together the story of his parents' past. Memories of his American childhood, interspersed with tales of wartime horrors and escapades in Czechoslovakia, a real love affair that's doomed from the beginning, plus the memories of those living in exile as a result of the war. What does make this novel remarkable is the way in which it's written - the reading of it can be likened to partaking of a feast! Mark Slouka's use of the English language is quite wonderful - like listening to a magnificent piece of music being beautifully played. Sit back, relax, and enjoy!

vivid memories of second generations
This book is not for readers who expect a straight narrative, but for everyone who enjoys an emotive and beautiful writing. For some reason i thought it was an autobiography as the vivid images of central European culture, people and places were so true and beautifully described. It felt like flicking through old photographs of a family that you did not really know, but whose story you had the privilage to peep into. Very very lovely.