From Publishers Weekly
Just before Skvorecky turned 70, his friends urged him to write his memoirs. He decided instead to publish this collection of short stories, in which "nearly everything worth telling," as he writes in his preface, is present in one form or another. Taken together, the 24 tales work as both biography and history, tracking the literary life of one of the former Czechoslovakia's premier writers and the fate of his country under Nazi rule and Communist repression. The initial stories, which go by such self-explanatory titles as "How My Literary Career Began," "My Uncle Kohn" and "My Teacher, Mr. Katz," offer brief snapshots of the author's early years, and the specter of Nazism constantly hovers in the background as various characters are spirited away to the concentration camps. The most effective items in the collections are the longer, mid-career entries: "The End of Bull M cha" is an unusual look at political repression, in which a former jazz musician is thrown out of a club for his outrageous jitterbug dancing, while "Spectator on a February Night" tracks the chaos that occurs when Prague's left-wing journalists are forced to leave the country during the 1968 student demonstrations. The romantically oriented stories are a bit muddled by comparison, and a couple of the late-career stories that revolve around Skvorecky's teaching career are pedantic and ineffective. Skvorecky displays the tongue-in-cheek irony that is common to many Eastern European writers, but his unique compassion, humanism and wisdom in the face of relentless, unspeakable political horror makes him consistently engaging and intriguing. This collection should serve as both a summary and a point of entry for readers who wish to explore the shorter works of one of the finest international writers of his generation.Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Skvorecky (Dvorak in Love, etc.) has lived through some of the most egregious times in European history. In this semiautobiographical collection of stories, he recalls his life: his childhood during the brief First Republic; adolescence under Nazi occupation; adulthood in the Communist era; and finally middle age as an expatriate in Canada. The author paints indelible portraits of himself and his friends, young men struggling with their sexuality while doing battle for freedom of expression. In "My Teacher Mr. Katz," a boy observes the Nazis' increasing humiliation of the Jews in his community until they are finally loaded on a train for the camps. "The End of Bull M cha" is the portrait of a jazz lover's last defiant jitterbug under the Communist regime, and "Filthy Cruel World" is a heartbreaking portrait of disaffected youths, unable to commit to each other or to love. These cynical, often grim stories oppose the charmingly na‹ve pictures of the author's childhood and amused snapshots of his Canadian life. This portrait of the 20th century by one of its finest authors belongs in all libraries. Andrea Kempf, Johnson Cty. Community Coll. Lib., Overland Park, KS Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


Review
Collected short fiction by "a magnificent writer and a hilarious observer of human folly."--Newsweek



Book Description


One of the most celebrated writers of our time, Josef Škvorecký has been internationally honored for his passion, wry humor, insight into human and political frailty, and breathtaking style. When Eve Was Naked is Škvorecký's autobiography told in stories. Collected here in a chronological sweep, they take the reader through the stages of a most remarkable life, and bear witness to some of the twentieth century's most eventful and tragic times -- from the innocence of prewar Prague through the horrors of the Nazi occupation and World War II. Many of these are narrated by the tenderhearted cynic Danny Smiricky. In the title story, "Eve Was Naked," seven-year-old Danny falls in love for the first time; at sixteen he hides in a railway station and watches as his Jewish teacher is herded onto a train and taken away. In 1968, as Russian tanks rolled into Prague, Skvorecky fled Czechoslovakia, taking Danny with him. In the collection's final stories Danny begins his tenure as Professor Smiricky at Edenvale -- a Canadian university -- and attempts to come to terms with the politically innocent and self-centered youth that flock to his courses.

Masterfully written, humorous, and wise, When Eve Was Naked is a remarkably revealing work of fiction.



Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Czech


About the Author
Josef Škvorecký is the author of The Bass Saxophone and The Engineer of Human Souls, among other works. He is the recipient of the Neustadt International Prize in Literature and Canada's Governor General's Award for Fiction. He lives in Toronto and Venice, Florida.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"When Eve Was Naked: Stories of a Life's Journey is the most comprehensive collection of Josef Skvorecky's short fiction to date, and stands as a wonderful introduction to the work of a writer who has been internationally acknowledged for his passion, his wry humor, his insights into human and political frailty, and his inimitable style." "The stories run in a chronological sequence and form a semiautobiographical portrait of Skvorecky's own life. Many are narrated by Skvorecky's beloved fictional alter ego - the tenderhearted cynic Danny Smiricky." In the title story, eight-year-old Danny falls in love for the first time with six-year-old Eve; at sixteen he watches his Jewish German teacher, Mr. Katz, herded onto a train with his family and taken away; later he witnesses a Communist putsch. While Skvorecky flees Czechoslovakia in 1968, Danny finds a new career for himself in Canada. The later stories in the collection examine the struggles of Danny - now a tenured professor at Edenvale, a Canadian university - to understand his politically innocent and alarmingly self-centered students.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Just before Skvorecky turned 70, his friends urged him to write his memoirs. He decided instead to publish this collection of short stories, in which "nearly everything worth telling," as he writes in his preface, is present in one form or another. Taken together, the 24 tales work as both biography and history, tracking the literary life of one of the former Czechoslovakia's premier writers and the fate of his country under Nazi rule and Communist repression. The initial stories, which go by such self-explanatory titles as "How My Literary Career Began," "My Uncle Kohn" and "My Teacher, Mr. Katz," offer brief snapshots of the author's early years, and the specter of Nazism constantly hovers in the background as various characters are spirited away to the concentration camps. The most effective items in the collections are the longer, mid-career entries: "The End of Bull M cha" is an unusual look at political repression, in which a former jazz musician is thrown out of a club for his outrageous jitterbug dancing, while "Spectator on a February Night" tracks the chaos that occurs when Prague's left-wing journalists are forced to leave the country during the 1968 student demonstrations. The romantically oriented stories are a bit muddled by comparison, and a couple of the late-career stories that revolve around Skvorecky's teaching career are pedantic and ineffective. Skvorecky displays the tongue-in-cheek irony that is common to many Eastern European writers, but his unique compassion, humanism and wisdom in the face of relentless, unspeakable political horror makes him consistently engaging and intriguing. This collection should serve as both a summary and a point of entry for readers who wish to explore the shorter works of one of the finest international writers of his generation. (June) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

Skvorecky (Dvorak in Love, etc.) has lived through some of the most egregious times in European history. In this semiautobiographical collection of stories, he recalls his life: his childhood during the brief First Republic; adolescence under Nazi occupation; adulthood in the Communist era; and finally middle age as an expatriate in Canada. The author paints indelible portraits of himself and his friends, young men struggling with their sexuality while doing battle for freedom of expression. In "My Teacher Mr. Katz," a boy observes the Nazis' increasing humiliation of the Jews in his community until they are finally loaded on a train for the camps. "The End of Bull M cha" is the portrait of a jazz lover's last defiant jitterbug under the Communist regime, and "Filthy Cruel World" is a heartbreaking portrait of disaffected youths, unable to commit to each other or to love. These cynical, often grim stories oppose the charmingly na ve pictures of the author's childhood and amused snapshots of his Canadian life. This portrait of the 20th century by one of its finest authors belongs in all libraries. Andrea Kempf, Johnson Cty. Community Coll. Lib., Overland Park, KS Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews