Bohumil Hrabal

Bohumil Hrabal

Bohumil Hrabal (Brno, 1914 - Prague, 1997). Czech writer whose work is characterized by a satirical vision of reality and the importance it gives to its absurd aspects. Considered one of the greatest authors of the twentieth century in his language for its narrative ease and the alternative use of humor and tragedy in a single plane, it acquired popularity with his novels Dancing lessons for the elderly (1964), trains rigorously watched (1965) ) and I who served the King of England (1971). His novels have been translated into twenty-four languages, gaining international renown. During the seventies, in the so-called "normalization period" in communist Czechoslovakia, the author was reprimanded for his adherence to the "Anticarta," Manifesto of Two Thousand Words (1968), in the Prague Spring. Despite his fame, the Czech writer stayed away from social life, although without leaving the visits to his usual Prague brewery.