Czech translation of 'WILL' presented in Prague

Last Wednesday, 23 May, Jeroen Olyslaeghers presented the Czech translation of his novel WILL on a very special location: a reading room situated in a 42 meter long wooden airship which floats in between two buildings of the DOX Centre for Contemporary Art in Prague. This unique architectural intervention was opened in 2016 as a new permanent space for reading and public discussions of literature.

After the presentation of his novel, Olyslaeghers spoke to popular Czech writer Katerina Tuckova. Similarly to 'WILL', Tuckova’s 'The Expulsion of Gerta Schnirch' questions the innocence of regular people: this shared subject made for an interesting literary conversation. In critical historical situations, who is the victim and who is the bad guy? Can we notice evil yet remain passive and silent? Who has the truth on their side and who is guilty? These are only a few of the questions that both authors adressed in their book – and also in their conversation.

'WILL‘ is an award-winning novel, set during the Second World War, in which Jeroen Olyslaegers challenges the widely accepted boundaries between good and evil – not only in the past but also in our own time. The translation rights have been sold to a number of countries, but the Czech translation (by Veronika Ter Harmsel Havlikova) is the first to be published. The literary programme at the DOX Centre was simultaneously interpreted and moderated by journalist Daniela Vrbova (Czech Radio). Approximately eighty spectators attended the discussion.