Skvorecky, Josef

The Czech author, editor, translator and (film)scriptwriter Josef Škvorecký was born in Náchod, in Bohemia. He is considered to be one of the most important names in Czech literature, together with Jan Neruda, Jaroslav Hašek and Karel Čapek. One reason is that he described the problems and traumas of his home country in a convincing manner, while never hiding his interest in Western popular culture, particularly literature and music. His books are an unusual but skilfully carried-out balance between ‘serious’ literature and popular literature – with elements of music.