Under a Cruel Star by Heda Kovly
A classic account of life under Nazism and Stalinism that will appeal to fans of Alone in Berlin and Stasiland
One does not 'review' a book like thisOne weeps, and prays ... Beautiful evocation of lovely Prague * The Sunday Times *
A book that puts the urgencies of our times and ourselves in perspective, making us confront the darker realities of human nature -- Anthony Lewis * New York Times *
This is an extraordinary memoir, so heartbreaking that I have reread it for months, unable to rise to the business of 'reviewing' less a book than a life repeatedly outraged by the worst totalitarians in Europe. Yet it is written with so much quite respect for the minutiae of justice and truth that one does not know where and how to specify Heda Kovály's splendidness as a human being -- Alfred Kazin
Written with the sophistication of a litterateur and the immediacy of a survivor -- Josef Škvorecký
Kovaly's writing is brilliantly sharp ...This is a brave, beautiful book about how humans can overcome atrocious abuse -- Leyla Sanai * Independent *
Kovály is a fine writer, with a painterly and subversive eye for detail ... This memoir covers only 27 of the author's 91 years. In the period covered, she survived more hardship and heartbreak than most people experience in a lifetime. When Prague is described as "alive, sad, and brave... when she smiles with spring, her smile glistens like a tear", Kovály could be talking about herself. Feisty, fiercely concerned with survival, truth and justice and able to win over even the most hard-hearted of officials, Kovály's resilient personality shines out of this memoir -- Vanessa Curtis * Jewish Chronicle *
One of the outstanding autobiographies of the century * San Francisco Chronicle-Examiner *
A bleak classic of relentless persecution that reads like a dark thriller, all the more chilling for her courage in writing frankly about the hardship of daily life -- Iain Finyalson * Saga *
As an explanation of how Czechoslovakia slipped into communism and as a chronicle of life under a totalitarian regime Under a Cruel Star is superb ... fluent, crisp prose and a gripping read ... powerful memoir and analysis of the twin tragedies of recent Czech history -- Anna Foden * Bookmunch *
A book that puts the urgencies of our times and ourselves in perspective, making us confront the darker realities of human nature -- Anthony Lewis * New York Times *
This is an extraordinary memoir, so heartbreaking that I have reread it for months, unable to rise to the business of 'reviewing' less a book than a life repeatedly outraged by the worst totalitarians in Europe. Yet it is written with so much quite respect for the minutiae of justice and truth that one does not know where and how to specify Heda Kovály's splendidness as a human being -- Alfred Kazin
Written with the sophistication of a litterateur and the immediacy of a survivor -- Josef Škvorecký
Kovaly's writing is brilliantly sharp ...This is a brave, beautiful book about how humans can overcome atrocious abuse -- Leyla Sanai * Independent *
Kovály is a fine writer, with a painterly and subversive eye for detail ... This memoir covers only 27 of the author's 91 years. In the period covered, she survived more hardship and heartbreak than most people experience in a lifetime. When Prague is described as "alive, sad, and brave... when she smiles with spring, her smile glistens like a tear", Kovály could be talking about herself. Feisty, fiercely concerned with survival, truth and justice and able to win over even the most hard-hearted of officials, Kovály's resilient personality shines out of this memoir -- Vanessa Curtis * Jewish Chronicle *
One of the outstanding autobiographies of the century * San Francisco Chronicle-Examiner *
A bleak classic of relentless persecution that reads like a dark thriller, all the more chilling for her courage in writing frankly about the hardship of daily life -- Iain Finyalson * Saga *
As an explanation of how Czechoslovakia slipped into communism and as a chronicle of life under a totalitarian regime Under a Cruel Star is superb ... fluent, crisp prose and a gripping read ... powerful memoir and analysis of the twin tragedies of recent Czech history -- Anna Foden * Bookmunch *
Heda Kovály was born Heda Bloch in Prague in 1919, the daughter of a prosperous Jewish couple. She survived imprisonment and forced labour under the Nazi regime, during which time both her parents were killed. She escaped from a labour camp in 1945 and returned to her native Prague, where she was re-united with her husband, Rudolf Margolius, who was later executed in a communist show-trial. Heda left Prague for America, where she worked as a translator and later as a librarian at Harvard University. She returned to Prague in 1996 where she later passed away, aged 91, in 2010.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781847084767 |
| ISBN 10 | 1847084761 |
| Title | Under a Cruel Star |
| Author | Heda Kovály |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Granta Books |
| Year published | 2012-01-05 |
| Number of pages | 192 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |