Reviews - page 4

By Lucie Horáková

Butler’s Severance is an unexpected take on the format of a short story collection. It contains sixty one very short texts that all adhere to some rather specific rules. Each short story has exactly 240 words. Why? Because Butler used some interesting facts as his starting point. First, “After decapitation, the human head is believed to remain in a state of consciousness for one and one-half minutes.” And second: “In a heightened state of emotion, people speak at the rate of 160 words per minute.” This suggests that a decapitated head should be able to deliver a 240-word-long inner soliloquy and this is the content of Butler’s short story collection – sixty one 240-word-long inner monologues inside various severed heads. Keep Reading

By Lucie Horáková

At the end of 2014, Neil Gaiman published a new book, called The Sleeper and the Spindle, and many Gaiman fans rejoiced. Because some of them are also in our editorial board, the candidate for the spring Re:Views issue suggested itself. As a piece to review, The Sleeper and the Spindle is quite problematic – how to review a book only few pages long, whose message cannot be analysed without revealing a substantial part of the story? So instead of a classic review, the editorial board of Re:Views decided to share the views of three of its members about the book itself.

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Drama from the Victorian England

by Sára Dobiášová

In Victorian England, the independent and headstrong Bathsheba Everdene attracts three very different suitors: Gabriel Oak, a sheep farmer; Frank Troy, a reckless Sergeant; and a prosperous and mature bachelor William Boldwood. The classic story, created by Thomas Hardy and published in 1874, is coming into the Czech cinemas in July 2015. Keep Reading

By Anna Formánková

One of the highly anticipated films of the year telling the story of one of the most unjustly mistreated man in the British history is coming into the cinemas. The Imitation Game, starring Benedict Cumberbatch in the lead role, arrives to uncover the life of the man who broke the Enigma code, Alan Turing.  Keep Reading

by Lucie Horáková

When the interwebs announced that there is to be a new TV series called Outlander, taking place in 18th century Scotland, there seemed to be no reason whatsoever to pay it any closer attention. The series, produced by American cable network Starz, promised nothing out of ordinary. Based on a bestseller by Diana Gabaldon, it tells the story of Claire Beauchamp Randall, a nurse serving in WWII, who meets her husband in Inverness for their second honeymoon after five-year separation caused by the war. On the eve of Samhain some magic gets to work and Claire is transported back in time to the period of the Jacobite risings. Immediately after the unearthly experience, Claire is almost raped by a rough English soldier and saved by a handsome highlander who then makes use of her nursing skills.  Keep Reading

by Lucie Horáková

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, born in 1977 in Enugu, is one of Nigeria’s most prominent young authors. Thanks to her hard work, she gained a scholarship at Dexler University in Philadelphia, USA, where she studied communications and political science. She also has a degree in creative writing and African studies, the latter from the prestigious Yale University. In the present, she travels between the USA and Nigeria, teaching writing workshops and promoting the importance of literature.  Keep Reading