Dominika Dery The Twelve Little Cakes A Memo

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.Table of ContentsTitle PageCopyright PageDedicationAcknowledgementsone - THE LITTLE DELIGHTtwo - THE ROOFthree - THE LITTLE COFFINfour - THE SWANfive - THE LITTLE COGNAC PEAKsix - THE PUNCHERseven - THE LITTLE INDIANeight - THE LITTLE BANANAnine - THE LITTLE YOLK WREATHten - THE CHOCOLATE HORSESHOEeleven - THE HEDGEHOGtwelve - THE LITTLE TUBEADDITIONALABOUT THE AUTHORPraise for Dominika Dery’s remembrance of her Prague childhood: The Twelve Little Cakes“The public world is rotten with lies and suspicion, but the sweet and feisty child who dances through this memoir is a truthteller—in Communist Czechoslovakia she’s always getting into trouble for it.Perfectly recapturing the detailed perspective of a small person looking up at adults, Dominika Dery shows us how one loved child made magic out of a society hostile to love.”—Nuala O’Faolain“[A] vivid and enchanting account of.early childhood in Communist Czechoslovakia.Dery has a real story to tell.Here, at last, is a Central-European writer who can be appreciated for her talent, not just her cultural exoticism or dissident politics.The Twelve Little Cakes is a time capsule, a faithful account of a lost world.Put aside the narrative, and what you get is a crisp documentary about everyday life in a one-party state.In this wise and disarmingly honest book, she also offers us glimpses of the humor and humanity that flourished in a world where all that people had—absent political rights or popular entertainment—was ‘each other, and plenty of love in our hearts’.In Dery’s accounting, which rarely veers toward nostalgia, the joy of small things is what life under Communism was all about: the secret rebellion of baking a cake from a recipe handed down from one’s aristocratic grandmother; the triumph of making it to the front of the line at the market for live carp at Christmastime; the empowerment that comes from knowing that you have stolen a private moment that no spying neighbor could observe.Dery may not have viewed Communism with adult eyes, but she has managed to say something about it that has eluded legions of historians.”—Newsday“This ramble through a childhood that remained full of pleasure and affection despite the efforts of the Communist regime is well worth taking.”—The Washington Post“True tales of growing up remain one of the most resonant strains of memoir and this recounting of a youth in Czechoslovakia after the failed promise of the ‘Prague Spring’ is another fine example of its resiliency.Dery, a Czech poet, grew up in difficult circumstances as the daughter of two dissidents, but her memoir, written in English, is a testament to the power of irrepressible childhood adventures, even amid a constraining atmosphere of fear and comrades.”—Seattle Post-Intelligencer“An unusual slice-of-life view of what it was like growing up in Communist Czechoslovakia in the 1970s.Even though the story is told through the eyes of Dery as a little girl, The Twelve Little Cakes gives readers a sophisticated glimpse of a happy, well-adjusted family loving each other and making the best of things while living under constant Communist oppression.[It] has much to say about attitudes.Is it better to forgive or not to forgive? Is it better to be an optimist or a pessimist? Is it worthwhile to stand up for one’s convictions even when it is dangerous? These are the themes that run throughout the course of this book, the questions that make this memoir a most unusual and interesting read.”—Rocky Mountain News“An accomplished poet, [Dery] extracts emotional beauty from near squalor.”—USA Today“In Ake: The Years of Childhood (1981), Wole Soyinka exposes the hypocrisies of colonialism in an intimate autobiography of his Nigerian youth.Czech poet and playwright Dery takes a similar approach in this spirited memoir of her childhood, beginning in 1975, on the outskirts of Prague.Demonstrating the ‘nonsense of the system’ from a child’s view, Dery recounts the cruelties of the Communist regime: her corrupt, wealthy grandparents disown her dissident parents; Dery’s father has difficulty finding work; informers are constant.But Dery portrays her exuberant young self and her devoted parents with enormous affection and a contagious, sly humor as she blends political and cultural observations into stories about universal awakenings: At four years old, she’s horrified when her parents kill a live carp for Christmas dinner.And as a preteen, she wonders if cleverness and talent matter less than a ‘nice pair of goats,’ Czech slang for breasts.The result is a warm, intelligent portrait of childhood and a smart, loving family who challenge a system that threatens ‘no money, no choice, and no chance.’”—Booklist“The world is an adventure for a little girl in this memoir of life in Communist Czechoslovakia.A tale that flows like good fiction.”—Fort Worth Star Telegram“This is no cynical memoir—it is a touching but clear-eyed testament to a family’s will to survive, and even thrive, through the final turbulent years of a terrible regime.Be charmed by Dominika’s simple child’s love of life and her stubborn insistence on seeing the good.”—Library Journal (Editor’s Pick)“A disarmingly sweet and savvy memoir.Life is hard, and then you laugh—if, like this author, you are wily enough, self-possessed enough, and love the ones you’re with as they love you back.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUPPublished by the Penguin GroupPenguin Group (USA) Inc.375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USAPenguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada(a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, EnglandPenguin Group Ireland, 25 St.Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd.)Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia(a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty.Ltd.)Penguin Books India Pvt.Ltd., 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi—110 017, IndiaPenguin Group (NZ), cnr Airborne and Rosedale Roads, Albany, Auckland 1310, New Zealand(a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.)Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196,South AfricaPenguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, EnglandCopyright © 2004 by Dominika DeryAll rights reserved.No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form withoutpermission.Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation ofthe author’s rights.Purchase only authorized editions.RIVERHEAD is a registered trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.The RIVERHEAD logo is a trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.Dery, Dominika.The twelve little cakes / by Dominika Deryp.cm.eISBN : 978-1-594-48139-0I.Dery, Dominika—Childhood and youth.2.Authors, Czech—20th century—Biography.I.Title.PG5039.14.E78Z891.8’6354—dc22http://us.penguingroup [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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