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Three characters are at the heart of this novel: the writers Bozena Nemcová and George Sand, and the magnate John D. Rockefeller. All three lived in the 19th century, but the way they shaped their lives continues to resonate in ours today. Bozena Nemcová wrote despite everything: her humble origins, her chronic lack of money, writing in a minority language, the family obligations demanded of her by her husband, blind to his wife's talent and will, and the intellectual narrowness imposed by the nascent Czech nationalism in the face of domination by the Austro-Hungarian Empire. George Sand, born into an aristocratic family, accepted nothing less than equality with men, like her lovers Alfred de Musset and Frédéric Chopin. She was one of the most celebrated writers in Europe of her time and one of the first women to wish to be radically free. John D. Rockefeller is the first great example of the American Dream, the self-made man. Unfazed by anything other than the accumulation of wealth and power, he didn't hesitate to eliminate rivals, ruin businesses, and devastate nature if it served his own interests. With these three characters and the narrative of their lives, Radka Denemarková weaves a searing critique of modernity up to the present day in a powerful and unforgettable novel that confirms her status as one of today's most interesting writers.
About the author
Radka Denemarková nacida en 1968 en plena Primavera de Praga, muchos la consideran la autora checa contemporánea más importante y la voz más fuerte de su generación. Estudió Literatura Alemana y Checa en la Universidad Carolina de Praga. Escritora, traductora y dramaturga, ha publicado nueve libros, entre ellos seis novelas que se han traducido a más de veinte idiomas. El dinero de Hitler (Galaxia Gutenberg, 2015) mereció, en Chequia, el premio Magnesia Litera por la mejor novela del año (2007) y en Alemania el premio Usedom (2011) y el premio Georg Dehio (2012). Contribución a la historia de la alegría (Galaxia Gutenberg, 2020) ganó en 2019, en Suiza, el Premio Literario Spycher Leuk. En 2024 la escritora fue galardonada con el Premio Franz Kafka de la (ÖGfL), y con el Premio Europeo de la Tolerancia. Es miembro de la Academia Alemana de Literatura y Poesía.
