8.4 /10 1 Votes
Original title Příliš hlučná samota Language Czech Published in English 1990 Originally published 1976 Page count 112 Publisher Harcourt (English) | 4.2/5 Goodreads Country Czech Republic Publication date 1976 Media type Print Genre Fiction Translator Michael Henry Heim | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Similar Works by Bohumil Hrabal, Fiction books | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Too loud a solitude trailer
Too Loud a Solitude (Czech: Příliš hlučná samota) 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 eclectic and dimwitted 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.
Contents
Interview with director of too loud a solitude
Plot summary
The entire story is narrated in the first person by the main character Hanta. Hanta is portrayed as a sort of recluse and hermit, albeit one with encyclopedic literary knowledge. Hanta uses metaphorical language and surreal descriptions, and much of the book is concerned with just his inner thoughts, as he recalls and meditates on the outlandish amounts of knowledge he has attained over the years. He brings up stories from his past and imagines the events of whimsical scenarios. He contemplates the messages of the vast numbers of intellectuals which he has studied. The novel is vibrant with symbolism. A simple but obscure plot is present, however.
"For thirty-five years now I've been in wastepaper, and it's my love story" says Hanta in the opening line of the book. He goes on to describe his methods for work, and for using his job to "save" incredible numbers of books for reading and storage in his home.
The main theme of Too Loud a Solitude is of the permanence and intangibility of ideas which may, for a time, come to manifest themselves beautifully in the form of books and words. Another theme involves the conflict between Hanta's simple way of life and that of the new and ambitious socialist order.
Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
A live action film adaptation was released in the Czech Republic in 1996, one year before Hrabal's death.
In 2007 a stop-motion film was released, directed by Genevieve Anderson and starring Paul Giamatti in the role of Hanta.