Radio Prague February Quiz 2017

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Radio Prague February Quiz focused their question on a Czech writer who died 20 years ago on this 03 February.  The author regarded as one of the best Czech writers of the 20th century.  He was born in the city of Brno on 28 March 1914 to an unmarried mother, Marie Božena Kiliánová. Brno was then the province of Moravia within Austria-Hungary.

How do we about: Pivovar Polná

In 1956, the author entered matrimony with Eliška Plevová, affectionately known as ‘Pipsi,’ the progeny of Karel Pleva. Who held the position of procurator and manager at a wood factory situated in the South Moravian town of Břeclav. In 1965, the couple acquired a rural retreat in Kersko, near Nymburk, transforming the abode into a haven for the author’s numerous feline companions.

His literary repertoire is notably anchored by two seminal works, namely “Closely Observed Trains (Ostře sledované vlaky, 1965)” and “I Served the King of England (1971).” The distinguished Czech director Jiří Menzel adeptly translated both novels into cinematic masterpieces in 1966 and 2006, respectively. A collaborative effort between the author and Menzel ensued during the script development for “Closely Observed Trains,” a venture that garnered the coveted Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1968.

The author’s demise occurred in February 1997, the result of a fatal fall from a fifth-floor window at Bulovka Hospital in Prague, where he had endeavored to feed pigeons. Intriguingly, antecedent to this tragic event, the theme of suicide pervaded several of his literary works. On the morning of his demise, he cryptically alluded to an “invitation” received in a dream from a deceased poet interred in the adjacent cemetery. Despite conjecture, the attending physician unequivocally attributed the cause of death to suicide. Subsequently, the author was interred in the family crypt at a cemetery in Hradištko, fulfilling his expressed desire to rest eternally in an oak coffin bearing the inscription “Pivovar Polná” (Polná Brewery), the site of his mother and stepfather’s fortuitous encounter.

  [source Wikipedia]

Question for Radio Prague February Quiz:

Who is the author of the novels:

“Closely Watched Trains”, “I Served the King of England,” and “Too Loud a Solitude”?

Answers to [email protected] by the end of the month.

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