Declare Books As The Engineer of Human Souls (Danny Smiřický)

Original Title:	Příběh inženýra lidských duší
ISBN:	1564781992 (ISBN13: 9781564781994)
Edition Language:	English
Series:	Danny Smiřický
Characters:	Danny Smiricky
Literary Awards:	Angelus (2009)

The Engineer of Human Souls (Danny Smiřický) Paperback | Pages: 592 pages

Details Containing Books The Engineer of Human Souls (Danny Smiřický)

Title	:	The Engineer of Human Souls (Danny Smiřický)
Author	:	Josef Škvorecký
Book Format	:	Paperback
Book Edition	:	First Edition
Pages	:	Pages: 592 pages
Published	:	February 28th 2000 by Dalkey Archive Press (first published 1977)
Categories	:	Fiction. European Literature. Czech Literature

Narrative In Favor Of Books The Engineer of Human Souls (Danny Smiřický)

The Engineer of Human Souls is a labyrinthine comic novel that investigates the journey and plight of novelist Danny Smiricky, a Czech immigrant to Canada. As the novel begins, he is a professor of American literature at a college in Toronto. Out of touch with his young students, and hounded by the Czech secret police, Danny is let loose to roam between past and present, adopting whatever identity that he chooses or has been imposed upon him by History. As adventuresome, episodic, bawdy, comic, and literary as any novel written in the past twenty-five years, The Engineer of Human Souls is worthy of the subtitle Skvorecky gave it: "An Entertainment on the Old Themes of Life, Women, Fate, Dreams, The Working Class, Secret Agents, Love and Death."

Rating Containing Books The Engineer of Human Souls (Danny Smiřický)

Ratings: 4.16 From 834 Users | 80 Reviews

Weigh Up Containing Books The Engineer of Human Souls (Danny Smiřický)

We rejoin Danny Smiricky (from THE COWARDS), as an expatriate professor in Toronto, where he explores his present life of pretty student, and Czech secret agents, as well as some of the unresolved stories of his past during the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia during World War II.

"The Engineer of Human Souls" is a 20th century Czech novel and like every obediently disobedient 20th century Czech novel, it tells the story of a dissident male writer in trouble with his government for reasons that seem especially hazy in light of his more pressing preoccupation with philandering. With the surrounding political turmoil, meaning is extracted from love and art.Dan Smiricky is a Canadian English professor and Bohemian exile from Kostelec. He goes about life teaching literature

A terrific book by a Czech writer who emigrated to Canada after the 1968 Soviet invasion. Probably somewhat autobiographical. I didn't want this book to end. Not an easy read. Much detail, and many characters. Its full of life details on the Nazi occupation during World War II and elements of resistance to that, the fear of the state and informers during the Soviet era, and the brief blossoming of hope before the 1968 invasion. Also full of literary gems as the protagonist ends up as an English

This book disappointed me. I probably went in with too high expectations, given the bombastic language from the reviewers plastered all over the cover, suggesting that it was one of the best novels of the past few decades. You've already seen the plot summary in other reviews. The book is punctuated by a half dozen chapters, each named after a major writer. But each of those chapters only deals loosely with that writer, usually through references to the college course taught by the

I have long fantasised about leaving the UK, but it wasnt until recently that I seriously considered the prospect. Indeed, a couple of weeks ago I took a trip to Prague, my favourite city, in order to feel the place as someone looking to live there [which obviously involves a different mind-set from that of someone going there on holiday]. To this end, I made an effort to speak to locals, of course, but focussed my attention on those who had moved from elsewhere. As you would expect, there is a

If Milan Kundera had gotten together with Orhan Pamuk to rewrite Snow with more of a postmodern flourish...Toss in 'the immigrant experience' and a dash of post-war paranoia, and we're getting close to this book. Absolutely loved the lit-classroom dialogues on literature and politics and the accompanying allusions and metaphors. I wasn't in love with his prose, however, as it was burdened from time to time (and time again) with cliche. Still a rich and resounding read.

After reading The Miracle Game (more adventures of Danny Smiricky!) I was extremely happy to see that The Engineer of Human Souls is nearly 600 pages. Awesome, a good thing that won't end too soon. And this is really good, brilliant. Like an I.B. Singer novel on steroids. It's dark in the sense that anything that stems from life in the Eastern Block usually is, but the element of black humor/absurdity made this book difficult to put down. It's truly a literary treat.