Prague Pictures : Portraits of a City

From Here is the latest installment in Bloomsbury's fascinating Writer in the City series, which matches well-known writers with cities with which they are intimately familiar. Banville has not written a guidebook but rather, in his own words, "a handful of recollections, variations on a theme"--snapshots, if you like, of the city's past and present. The book begins with the author's first visit to Prague, during the cold war, but as we go deeper into the book, we also go deeper into the city's history. Banville flicks so effortlessly between past and present that Prague soon appears as a collage, effectively lifting the city's rich and visible past out of time and bringing it to life once again, as the author visits the birthplace of Franz Kafka or steps inside a cathedral whose construction was begun in 1344. While most travel memoirs clearly distinguish between the way a place is today and the way it used to be, Banville's perspective is somewhat different. This, he says, is Prague, past and present, the way it has always been. David Pitt Copyright 漏 American Library Association. All rights reserved Review "As remarkable a literary voice as any to come out of Ireland, Joyce and Beckettt notwithstanding." -- ,San Francisco Chronicle, "Ireland's finest contemporary novelist." -- ,The Economist, "Mr. Banville is that rare writer who can pack all five senses into one declarattive sentence." -- ,Wall Street Journal, "What is unusual-defiantly and therefore perhaps gloriously so-about Banville.iss the prose: poetic, sensuous, revelatory." -- ,New York Review of Books, Praise for John Banville: "Ireland's finest contemporary novelist."-_The Economist_ "Mr. Banville is that rare writer who can pack all five senses into one declarative sentence." -_Wall Street Journal_ "As remarkable a literary voice as any to come out of Ireland, Joyce and Beckett notwithstanding."-_San Francisco Chronicle_ "What is unusual-defiantly and therefore perhaps gloriously so-about Banville...is the prose: poetic, sensuous, revelatory."-_New York Review of Books_ -- Review History,Travel,General,Europe,Prague (Czech Republic),Eastern,Banville; John - Travel - Czech Republic - Prague,Voyages and travels,Prague (Czech Republic) - Description and travel From one of the foremost chroniclers of the modern European experience, a panoramic view of a city that has seduced and bewitched visitors for centuries.Prague is the magic capital of Europe. It has been a place of mystery and intrigue since the days of Emperor Rudolf II, who in the late 1500s summoned alchemists and magicians from all over the world to his castle on Hradèany hill. Wars, revolutions, floods, the imposition of Soviet communism, and even the depredations of the tourist boom after the Velvet Revolution of 1989 could not destroy the unique atmosphere of this beautiful, proud, and melancholy city on the Vltava.In this fascinating exploration of a city he loves, celebrated Irish novelist John Banville weaves together stories of Prague past and present. He traces Prague's often tragic history and portrays the people who made it: the emperors and princes, geniuses and charlatans, heroes and scoundrels. He also paints a portrait of the city as he grew to know it, from his first visit in the depths of the Cold War to the eve of the Czech Republic's accession into the European Union at the start of the new millennium. Banville brings the city to vivid life with a colorful tapestry of the people he met, the friends he made, the places he came to know in The City of a Hundred Spires.The fourth book in Bloomsbury's Writer and the City series. The fourth book in Bloomsbury's Writer and the City series. From one of the foremost chroniclers of the modern European experience, a panoramic view of a city that has seduced and bewitched visitors for centuries. Prague is the magic capital of Europe. Since the days of Emperor Rudolf II, "devotee of the stars and cultivator of the spagyric art", who in the late 1500s summoned alchemists and magicians from all over the world to his castle on Hradcany hill, it has been a place of mystery and intrigue. Wars, revolutions, floods, the imposition of Soviet communism, and even the depredations of the tourist boom after the Velvet Revolution of 1989 could not destroy the unique atmosphere of this beautiful, proud, and melancholy city on the Vltava. John Banville traces Prague's often tragic history and portrays the people who made it: the emperors and princes, geniuses and charlatans, heroes and scoundrels. He also paints a portrait of the Prague of today, reveling in its newfound freedoms, eager to join the European Community and at the same time suspicious of what many Praguers see as yet another totalitarian takeover. He writes of his first visit to the city, in the depths of the Cold War, and of subsequent trips there, of the people he met, the friends he made, the places he came to know. John Banville Traces Prague's Often Tragic History And Portrays The People Who Made It, The Emperors And Princes, Geniuses And Charlatans, Heroes And Scoundrels, And Paints A Portrait Of The Prague Of Today, Reveling In Its Newfound Freedoms, Eager To Join The European Community And At The Same Time Suspicious Of What Many Praguers See As Yet Another Totalitarian Takeover. He Writes Of His First Visit To The City, In The Depths Of The Cold War, When He Engaged In A Spot Of Art Smuggling, And Of Subsequent Trips There, Of The People He Met, And Friends He Made, The Places He Came To Know.--book Jacket. John Banville. Map On Liner Pages. Includes Bibliographical References.