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Great Science-Fiction & Fantasy Works
Science-fiction & fantasy literature: a critical list with discussions.
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This is a brief discussion of Michal Ajvaz and, of course, of some speculative-fiction books by Ajvaz.
This discussion and list does not necessarily include every book by Ajvaz: it includes only those books that I both know and like. Just as with the author list itself, omission of a particular item may mean I didn’t think highly enough of the omitted item, or it may simply mean that I have not yet sufficient familiarity with it. (In a very few cases, I have listed some books merely on the strength of my opinion of the author: all such books are clearly marked below, as throughout these lists, with a hash mark (#) before the title so you know what’s what.)
I don’t pretend that this discussion is a deep analysis. My intent is no more than to give you a rough idea of what kinds of tales Ajvaz tells, how those tales are usually told, and what makes them and Ajvaz worthy; in sum, to help you rank Michal Ajvaz (and the works by Ajvaz listed here) on your personal literary “to do” list.
A Few Words About Michal Ajvaz
Regrettably, I have not yet had an opportunity to write an essay on this author, but the “Other Resources” section below will lead you to some information about the “Notable Books” listed farther down this page.
While there is no dedicated Ajvaz site, there are numerous pages about him and his work, mostly individual reviews of his only three books so far translated into English. There are, though, a few more comprehensive appreciations available; the foremost is at the site of The Dalkey Archive, which publishes his works in English, is by Jonathan Bolton, and is titled “Reading Michal Ajvaz” [archived copy]. There is another fairly extensive appreciation by Dr. Jiří Urbanec (lecturer on Czech literature and literary theory at the Silesian University in Opava), "The World as a Labyrinth", at the Prague Writers Festival site (if the title makes you think of Borges, it should). Another useful resource is Michal Ajvaz: An annotated bibliography (of sorts, and with a brief commentary), by G. S. Evans at the Café Irreal site. And the Czech literature portal has a decent bit about Ajvaz.
The brief Ajvaz page [archived copy] at Dazed Ramblings points at some of his short stories available in English translation on the web. And there is a story by Ajvaz, "The City and Heaven", available at The Irreal Café.
Of the are numerous one-off reviews of particular Ajvaz books, here are a few to be going on with, but—as always—Google Is Your Friend.
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