Worthlessness
Jan Pavel

This book was published in the Czech Republic in 2009. Following its success among domestic readers, it was translated into Portuguese. This marks the first edition of the English version. Eight seemingly independent stories that gently pull the reader into a microcosmos where childhood phantoms meet the ambivalence of coming of age. How can we manage to face the daemons from the past without losing our poker face and keeping our hand on the table? The former hunters are slowly captured by their own game and the former losers happily find themselves on the opposite side of the scale standing close to the top of the rank. Still we never definitely get rid of our past by cutting all our roots, and our childhood memories might be good stuff for games more serious than boiling one's beloved guinea-pig.
As usual, Pavel keeps his well-managed style poignant with ripping dialogues and offers a masterfully written plot, making this little big book a page turner!