Issue Details: First known date: 1994... 1994 The Republic of Whores : Fragment from the Time of the Cults
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

Josef Skvorecky, internationally acclaimed for his rich prose and expansive vision, spins a beguiling comical tale of army life under foreign occupation. The Republic of Whores takes place on an army base in rural Czechoslovakia, where the draftees of the Seventh Tank Battalion reluctantly prepare for the inevitable war with America. This is life in the Czechoslovak Stalinist People's Democratic Army at its most insane, bawdy, and raw. It's a romp through the idiocies that prevailed under Soviet occupation and bred fear and nonsense. For all the rules and regulations of oppression, though, the human spirit triumphs here. With endearing ideological indifference, the young men fake tank maneuvers, study Russian texts with horror novels tucked inside, and mock patriotic songs with their own lyrics. Tank Commander Danny Smiricky, the hero of many Skvorecky novels, is at his most subversive and charming. While Danny tries to cope with his boisterous, not-too-bright, homesick troop, he dreams of love and of getting out of the army by fair means or foul. (Libraries Australia)

Notes

  • In his review of this book David Brooks says: 'The Australian connection is evident even in The Republic of Whores ... a considerable amount of poetry has crept into the novel. While it ranges from doggerel and graffiti to some more serious lyrical composition, and while none of it is openly attributed, it is interesting to note ... that one of the two "reserve NCOs ... who were there" to whom the book is partially dedicated, was himself a poet of some small reputation at the time and has been living in Australia for many years.'

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • London,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Faber ,
      1994 .
      Extent: 248p.
      Description: illus.
      Note/s:
      • Translated from the Czech by Paul Robert Wilson. Translation of: Tankovy prapor.
      ISBN: 0571173500 (pbk.)

Works about this Work

Skvorecky in Love David Brooks , 1994 single work review
— Appears in: Editions , September-October no. 21 1994; (p. 13-14)

— Review of The Republic of Whores : Fragment from the Time of the Cults Josef Skvorecky , 1994 single work novel
Skvorecky in Love David Brooks , 1994 single work review
— Appears in: Editions , September-October no. 21 1994; (p. 13-14)

— Review of The Republic of Whores : Fragment from the Time of the Cults Josef Skvorecky , 1994 single work novel
Last amended 6 Dec 2007 12:20:38
Subjects:
  • c
    Former Czechoslovakia,
    c
    Eastern Europe, Europe,
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