WThe Cowards is a Czech novel by Josef Škvorecký. Written in 1948–49 but not published until 1958, it is a story from the very end of the Second World War in Europe. Narrated in the first person by a Czech at the end of his teens, Danny Smiřický, it takes place in the week 4–11 May 1945 in his home town, a fictional town called Kostelec in northeast Bohemia, close to the frontier with then-German Middle Silesia.
WDancing Lessons for the Advanced in Age is a 1964 novel by the Czechoslovak writer Bohumil Hrabal. It tells the story of a man who recounts various events from his past, and in particular his love life. The novel is written in one long sentence.
WThe Farewell Waltz is a Czech-language novel by Milan Kundera published in 1972. A French edition was published in 1976 and an English version entitled The Farewell Party.
WThe Grandmother is a novella written by Czech writer Božena Němcová in 1855. It is her most popular work and is regarded as a classic piece of Czech literature. This most frequently read book of the Czech nation was published more than 300 times in the Czech language alone and translated into 21 other languages.
WHordubal is a Czech novel, written by Karel Čapek. It was first published in 1933. It compares internal and external knowledge. It is considered part of a trilogy with Meteor and An Ordinary Life.
WI Served the King of England is a novel by the Czech writer Bohumil Hrabal. The story is set in Prague in the 1940s, during the Nazi occupation and early communism, and follows a young man who alternately gets into trouble and has successes. Hrabal wrote the book during a period of censorship in the early 70s. It began circulating in 1971, and was formally published in 1983. It was adapted into a 2006 film with the same title, directed by Jiří Menzel, a noted director of the Czech New Wave.
WLudmila Vaňková is a Czech writer. Her books are popular. She is author of the Lev a růže tetralogy. This consists of the novels Král železný, král zlatý, Zlá léta, Dědicové zlatého krále and Žebrák se stříbrnou holí. She is also the author of Mosty pres propasti casu (1976) and Stříbrný jednorožec (1981).
WMemento (Warning) is a novel with reporting elements, written by Czech author Radek John and published in 1986. The story is set in Prague in the 1980s.
WMy Companions in the Bleak House is a novel by Czech author Eva Kantůrková, first published in 1984 and was the first recipient of the Tom Stoppard Prize. It is a fictionalised account of Kantůrková's time in prison on charges of sedition in Communist Czechoslovakia. In 1992 it was adapted into a 4 1⁄2-hour miniseries, which won two awards at the Festival International de Programmes Audiovisuels.
WToo Loud a Solitude is a short novel by Czech writer Bohumil Hrabal. Self-published in 1976 and officially in 1989 due to political censorship. It tells the story of an old man who works as a paper crusher in Prague, using his job to save and amass astounding numbers of rare and banned books; he is an obsessive collector of knowledge. The book was translated into English by Michael Henry Heim.
WWar with the Newts, also translated as War with the Salamanders, is a 1936 satirical science fiction novel by Czech author Karel Čapek. It concerns the discovery in the Pacific of a sea-dwelling race, an intelligent breed of newts, who are initially enslaved and exploited. They acquire human knowledge and rebel, leading to a global war for supremacy. There are obvious similarities to Čapek's earlier R.U.R., but also some original themes.