Josef Škvorecký Criticism
Josef Škvorecký, a Czechoslovakian-born Canadian novelist, is celebrated for his unique narrative style that intricately blends personal experience with broader historical and political themes. His work often reflects his dual identity, caught between the cultural influences of his native Czechoslovakia and his adopted home in Canada. A central element of Škvorecký's novels is the exploration of political oppression and artistic expression, frequently using jazz as a metaphorical device to critique authoritarian regimes. This approach is particularly prominent in works like The Bass Saxophone, where jazz symbolizes resistance against cultural repression, as noted by Russell Davies.
Škvorecký's oeuvre often features the recurring character Danny Smiricky, who navigates life under totalitarian regimes. In The Cowards, Danny's jazz obsession subtly critiques political constraints, while in The Republic of Whores, military life is humorously examined, as highlighted by John Paul Flintoff. This thematic interplay of art and politics is underscored by Milan Kundera's analysis of Škvorecký's novels as embodying an anti-revolutionary spirit.
Despite initial censorship in his homeland, Škvorecký's emigration to Canada after the Prague Spring allowed him greater freedom to explore his roots and incorporate historical research into his fiction. This is evident in Dvorak in Love, which blends historical and fictional elements as discussed by Marketa Goetz-Stankiewicz. Similarly, his scholarly depth is evident in The Bride of Texas, which has been praised by Edward J. Czerwinski for its intricate prose.
Škvorecký's ability to intertwine music with narrative and critique bureaucratic constraints is further exemplified in Miss Silver's Past, as praised by Thomas Lask and Tony Aspler. He transforms personal and political contexts into legendary narratives, exploring themes of loss, longing, and memory, a sentiment echoed by Saul Maloff. Critics like Benjamin DeMott have compared him to literary giants like Chekhov and Faulkner, underscoring his role as a vital voice challenging artistic and political boundaries.
Contents
- Principal Works
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Škvorecký, Josef (Vol. 152)
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The Girl and the Legend: Josef Škvorecký ‘Emöke’
(summary)
In the following essay, Brink discusses the title character and the unusual structure of Škvorecký's “Emöke.”
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A World Symphony in a Scherzo: Dvorak in Love (1986)
(summary)
In the following essay, Goetz-Stankiewicz discusses Škvorecký's melding of the historical and the fictional in Dvorak in Love.
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Preface to the French Edition of Mirákl (The Miracle Game) (1978)
(summary)
In the following essay, Kundera discusses the spring of 1968 in Prague and the antirevolutionary spirit of Škvorecký's novels.
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Telling the Truth: The Novels of Josef Škvorecký
(summary)
In the following essay, Galligan provides an overview of Škvorecký's work and discusses how censorship affected some of his novels.
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The Immigrant as Writer: Cultural Resistance and Conformity in Josef Škvorecký's The Engineer of Human Souls and Raymond Federman's Take It or Leave It
(summary)
In the following essay, Karpinski analyzes the influence that immigrant status has on Škvorecký's The Engineer of Human Souls and Raymond Federman's Take It or Leave It.
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Comical Conscripts
(summary)
In the following review, Flintoff traces the comedy present in Škvorecký's The Republic of Whores. Danny Smiricky, a conscript in the Czech army, is a secret satirist. In quiet moments, he takes out his notebook and develops his treatise on officers' bullying techniques. Headings include: “Soviet bellowing—our model”; “Bellowing as an instrument of world peace”; and “Hints on how to be decorated for exemplary bellowing.”
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The Bride of Texas
(summary)
In the following review, Czerwinski lauds Škvorecký for his scholarship and narrative skills in The Bride of Texas. All the ingredients of an epic are found in Josef Škvorecký's latest novel The Bride of Texas, originally issued in Czech as Nevesta z Texasu by the author's own highly acclaimed Sixty-Eight Publishers Corporation, located in Toronto: the American Civil War provides a colorful and tragic background for the escapades of a group of Czech émigrés, fleeing the oppression of the Habsburg Empire. Their Schweikian heroics are contrasted with the real-life saga of American soldiers. Rarely can the reader detect the line separating actual events from fictive invention. The Czech soldiers who fought on the Union side in the Wisconsin Battalion under General William Tecumseh Sherman prove their courage and demonstrate their foibles just as convincingly as do the regular Union recruits.
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Dying for Happiness
(summary)
In the following review, Miller describes the appeal of Škvorecký's The Bride of Texas.
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Variations on American Themes: The Bride of Texas
(summary)
In the following essay, Banerjee analyzes how Škvorecký's immigrant history has affected his presentation of the American experience in The Bride of Texas.
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American Themes in The Bride of Texas
(summary)
In the following essay, Kosek asserts that Škvorecký's The Bride of Texas is a merging of American and Czechoslovakian themes.
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An Interview with Josef Škvorecký
(summary)
In the following interview, Josef Škvorecký with Sam Solecki explores Škvorecký's literary techniques, his integration of historical research into novels like "The Bride of Texas," and the portrayal of strong female characters, while highlighting the challenges of translation and the blending of fiction with historical authenticity.
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Headed for the Blues: A Memoir with Ten Stories
(summary)
In the following review, Shawcross praises Škvorecký's portrayal of Czechoslovakia's years of dictatorship in Headed for the Blues.
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Running out of Breath
(summary)
In the following negative review, Simmons notes his disappointment in Škvorecký's stories in Headed for the Blues, describing the work as a memoir plus ten stories written in English that are told in an impressionistic, unbuttoned, free-association style that is hard to follow, despite certain recurring themes.
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The Girl and the Legend: Josef Škvorecký ‘Emöke’
(summary)
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Škvorecký, Josef (Vol. 15)
- Stuart Hood
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Four Novels: 'Miss Silver's Past'
(summary)
In the following essay, Thomas Lask praises "Miss Silver's Past" as both an entertaining thriller and a satirical critique of bureaucratic oppression in a Czech state-run publishing house, highlighting its unliterary, jazzy style that mocks the ideological constraints of the time.
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Sudden Subway
(summary)
In the following essay, Tony Aspler examines Josef Škvorecký's novel Miss Silver's Past as both a satirical commentary on the publishing industry in Czechoslovakia and a complex narrative that skillfully intertwines romance and detective fiction, highlighting Škvorecký's narrative prowess and thematic boldness.
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Dreams of Dixieland
(summary)
In the following essay, Russell Davies examines Josef Škvorecký's use of jazz as a symbol of anti-authoritarianism in his novellas "The Bass Saxophone" and "Emöke," highlighting how the music represents emotional and ideological struggles amidst cultural oppression in an exiled context, and reflecting on Škvorecký's personal connection to these themes.
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Jazz as Truth
(summary)
In the following essay, Philip Windsor examines Josef Škvorecký's novellas in The Bass Saxophone, exploring their jazz-like style and thematic focus on liberation from oppression, while highlighting how Škvorecký transforms personal and political contexts into legendary, poetic narratives.
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Music and Politics
(summary)
In the following essay, Saul Maloff explores Josef Škvorecký's novellas, highlighting themes of loss, longing, and memory, while emphasizing the emotional resonance and thematic interplay between art and politics in works such as "Emoke" and "The Bass Saxophone."
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Heller's Gold and a Silver Sax
(summary)
In the following essay, Benjamin DeMott praises Josef Škvorecký's The Bass Saxophone for its ability to invigorate readers through its theme of moral-imaginative awakening, comparing Škvorecký's technical skill and narrative intensity to that of Chekhov and Faulkner.
- Further Reading