I read this book twice. Once in my native language Czech to keep up with the contemporary Czech authors and also my native language, and the second time in English to compare the precision and style of the translation. The book is a literary debut by this young Czech author. When this book was first published it became the most read book of the year in the Czech Republic and won several European awards. Th
e story, written in a first person, is set into modern day Mongolia, where Hulova spent 2 years as an exchange student. It describes the life of three generations of Mongolian women in the same family. The story could be very well set in any society or culture outside of an occasional Mongolian word or a term. The book is sent in Mongolia because their society is less polluted by artificial phenomena such as media, advertising and careers and the author can focus on human feelings and relations. The book examines complex human emotions, personalities and motives rather than commercial lifestyle of our modern world. Feelings such as love, joy, bitterness and hope are universal.
The Czech original is available via an Interlibrary Loan from KU libraries.