| |||||
|
Readers of Europe 2022 – Slovak recommendation
- 4 August 2022
- Reading suggestion
- gsclibrary
Recommendation by the Permanent Representation of Slovakia to the EU
Book selected: Jednorožce by Barbora Hrínová
There are many ways to define a unicorn.
Perhaps the most obvious is that they are mythical animals. Creatures like flying horses with horns on their foreheads.
Unicorns also represent something that is highly desirable but difficult to obtain. A partner desired but impossible to find. The perfect candidate for a job. A rare item in a second hand shop.
Barbora Hrínová’s collection of short stories, Jednorožce, proves that unicorns are not as rare as one might think. They are all around us, hoping to be discovered.
Through eight tales of emotional disconnection, Hrínová depicts the simplicity of ordinary people’s everyday lives. Ordinary-extraordinary characters.
These are people who have trouble forming relationships. Various individuals living good lives but confined to the fringes because they do not experience sexual attraction or suffer from neuroses.
People like Bony, an unambitious man in his thirties living in his parents’ apartment, seeking to connect with women on dating apps. Or Romana, a young woman trying to make it in the big city.
These are stories of ordinary people who are looking for their own place in the world, who are trying in their own way to live lives true to themselves, and who are striving for interpersonal connections. People who might not want to be unicorns anymore.
Barbora Hrínová (1984) studied at the Film and TV Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava where she now works in the Screenwriting Department. She did her post-doctoral research on contemporary film at Ilia State University in Tbilisi. She is a three-time finalist of the short-story competition Poviedka (2008, 2017 and 2018), and develops radio documentaries for both the Slovak and Czech national broadcasters.
About the Readers of Europe campaign
The year 2022 has been designated the European Year of Youth. The Council Library has therefore chosen to devote the third edition of its annual Readers of Europe initiative to young people, putting the focus squarely on new and emerging European literary talent.
The permanent representations to the EU have once again been invited to recommend books from their countries to read over the summer. The theme for this year’s campaign is ‘Discover something new’, the idea being that every permanent representation selects a book by an author who has published their first work within the last five years. We will promote these selections over the summer on the Council Library blog.
Europe is awash with exciting young authors. Dive into this selection and discover stories that hum with fresh ideas and luminous prose. Novels that ask piercing questions about humanity. Stories that are edgy and beautiful, gripping and unsettling. Stories worthy of a place in any library.
So find a comfy place to sit back and relax as we showcase some of Europe’s promising literary talent.
This post does not necessarily represent the positions, policies, or opinions of the Council of the European Union or the European Council.
The Council Library reading room is open on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 12.00 to 15.00. The Info Desk remains open online from Monday to Friday.
