I have served the King of England.

Author: Milan Kundera
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-01-01
Features: In China, everyone knows Milan Kundera. But who knows Bohumil Hrabal? The Czech writer, Bohumil Hrabal, a law graduate, reconstructed his life in this way: he served in the army, worked as a salesman, warehouse manager, steelworker, and later as a packing worker at a scrap recycling plant and a stagehand. At the age of 49, his first work was published, and thereafter he received more than 30 domestic and international awards. Many of his works were adapted into films and plays, winning the Golden Bear Award at the Berlin Film Festival and the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. This novel, based on the experiences of a restaurant waiter, depicts the social life of Czechoslovakia over nearly half a century. It is also a "biography" in the style of a writer's memoir, describing the lives of hotels, restaurants, canteens, taverns, and cafes throughout, filled with Prague-style humor, irony, and satire. Hrabal's life ended this way: On February 3, 1997, it was discovered that the writer, who was about to leave the hospital, had fallen from the fifth-floor window of the hospital and died. This series of "Hrabal Masterpieces,", is being released in installments. The Chinese Youth Press has acquired the complete copyright, and the renowned translator has directly translated the works from the Czech language.