Invitation to a literary meeting with Patrik Ouředník, author of the book "Europeana - A Brief History of the Twentieth Century"
26.08.2016 / 11:24 | Aktualizováno: 24.08.2017 / 11:37
We invite you cordially to a literary meeting with the famous Czech writer Patrik Ouředník, author of the book "Europeana - A Brief History of the Twentieth Century" which will take place on Tuesday, September 13, 2016 from 16 hrs. at Tronsmo Bokhandel in the centre of Oslo (Universitetsgata 12). Interpreting will be provided from Czech into Norwegian and vice versa. Visitors will have the opportunity to debate with this important Czech and French writer not only the book, but also its themes and context.
The book "Europeana - A Brief History of the Twentieth Century" was published at the Bokvennen publishing house last year, in translation by Kristin Sofie Kilsti. The book was reissued as a paperback publication on the occasion of the visit of Patrik Ouředník in Norway.
Patrik Ouředník was born and raised in Czechoslovakia, he emigrated to France in 1984, where he still lives. He writes in Czech and French and belongs to the best-selling and most famous Czech writers at present. He is the author of nearly twenty literary works, mainly novels and poetry. In autumn 2014 he received the State Prize for Literature.
The book "Europeana - A Brief History of the Twentieth Century" was published in the Czech Republic in 2001 and it attracted attention immediately. It was considered by literary critics, writers and publishers to be the most important book of the year, it was nominated for the Magnesia Litera Prize in the same year. “Europeana” has been translated into 29 languages up to the present.
The book 'Europeana - A Brief History of the Twentieth Century "deals with the role of truth and memory in history. Through an impersonal narrator, the author presents the individual events of the twentieth century. In one breath, he ranks both world wars as well as data on how many times per year people wash their cars. Everything comes together in a large flow of events, completed with quotations of experts and reports by hearsay. The content of the book is further supported by the formal aspect, the book contains no chapters or paragraphs. The book does not give the answer to the question, what is history and what role is played by memory. But the book offers a remarkable testimony of the time when immense amount of information may hamper real knowledge.
The literary meeting is organized by the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Oslo together with the Bokvennen publishing house. The meeting is supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic as well.