Vladimír Páral

Vladimír Páral (born August 10, 1932) is a Czech fiction writer whose work ranges from biting satire to works of Socialist Realism, produced under the communist regime.

Biography

Although born in Prague, he spent his early years in Brno, where his father was a military officer. After graduating from secondary school, he received technical training^[1] then went on to study chemical engineering at a branch of the University of Chemistry and Technology in Pardubice; graduating in 1954.^[2]

He worked at various locations until 1967, when he took a permanent position at the Institute of Scientific, Technical and Economic Information. He had begun writing in 1962, and made contributions to the local daily, Průboj, under the name Jan Laban. Five years later, he started to write novels and, in 1972, became an editor at Severočeském nakladatelství.

In 1977, he was one of the signatories to Anticharta [cs], a formal government document condemning Charter 77, a human rights initiative.^{[citation needed]} In 1992, some classified documents were leaked, including a list of people who had allegedly worked for the StB (secret police), and Páral's name was on that list.^[3]

Since 1995, he has divided his time between Prague and Mariánské Lázně.

Bibliography

Black pentalogy

• Veletrh splněných přání (Fair granted wishes), 1964
• Soukromá vichřice: Laboratorní zpráva ze života hmyzu (Private storm: Laboratory note of insect's life), 1966
• Katapult: Jízdní řád železničních, lodních a leteckých drah do ráje (Catapult: Traffic order of railway, shipment and airlines into paradise), 1967
• Milenci a vrazi: Magazín ukájení před rokem 2000 (Lovers and murders: Magazine of cater before year 2000), 1969
• Profesionální žena: Román pro každého (Professional woman: Novel for everyone), 1971

White pentalogy

• Mladý muž a bílá velryba: Malý chemický epos (Young man and white whale: Little chemical epic), 1973
• Radost až do rána: O křečcích a lidech (Joy until morning: About hamsters and people), 1975
• Generální zázrak: Román naděje (General miracle: Romance of hope), 1977
• Muka obraznosti: Konfrontace snu a skutečnosti (Agony of symbolic: Confrontation of dream and reality), 1980

References