Others' ParadiseFiction. Translated from the German by Stephanie Howard and Amy R. Nestor. Towards the end of his life Leppin wrote: "Prague remains my deepest experience. Its conflict, its mystery, its rat-catcher's beauty have ever provided my poetic efforts with new inspiration and meaning." OTHERS' PARADISE represents one of the most intense expressions of this experience. Beginning with the highly imagistic "The Doors of Life," the eight stories contained in this volume detail the contours of the lives and visions of a collection of Prague inhabitants, from a prostitute bound to the decay of the old Jewish Quarter, to a man caught in the memory of a lost love and a shoemaker whose knowledge of the owrkd has been constricted to the view from the window of his cellar workroom. Binding their personal histories, woven into their most intimate details, is Prague itself, the city whose nature, mythical and yet all-too-real, gives shape and force to their desires while simultaneously determining their frustrations. |
Common terms and phrases
Anita beautiful bright child colored curtain Czech Republic danced dark dead death doll door dream eyes face fate fear feet Frau Maria frock coat front gaze girl golden hair hand happiness head heard heart Herr Muckenschnabel hour Hradčany huge Jewish Quarter Johanna Käthe King Kaspar kissed Klaudius knew lamp laugh Leppin light lips Little Rosa locust trees looked Malá Strana Maria Maria Master Thomas moon mouth mute never night opened pain pale park passed path Peter Jordan play Prague Queen Red Kaspar red room Roman Maria rose Salon of Aaron seven women shadows shrieked shuddered silent silver eaves sleep smile song spoke stairs stared stood story strange street suddenly tears thought throat tirili top hat TWISTED SPOON PRESS velvet Veronika Selig violin Vltava voice walls Wanda weep wild window woman young