Tomáš Zmeškal: A Love Letter in Cuneiform Script

Translation: Edgar de Bruin, Querido 2012

Tomáš Zmeškal (b.1966 in Prague) studied English and English Literature at King’s College, University of London. He has worked as an assistant teacher at the Charles University in Prague, a language teacher, translator, interpreter and secondary school teacher. Currently he is working on his third novel. He is a member of the PEN Club and lives in Prague. Tomáš Zmeškal has written two novels and a radio play. He was awarded the European Literature Award for  2011 for his novel Milostný dopis klínovým písmem (Love Letter in Cuneiform Script), was nominated for the Magnesia Litera Prize for 2009, awarded the Josef Škvorecký Award in 2009 and landed  2nd place in the Lidové Noviny newspaper ‘Book of the Year 2009’ survey. His book is both a historical novel and a love story, portraying the fate of free generations of one family during the second half of the 20th century. Tomáš Zmeškal was also shortlisted for the Josef Škvorecký Award for 2010 for his second novel Životopis černobílého jehněte (A Biography of a Black and White Lamb) (Source: author’s website).

Tomáš Zmeškal’s debut is a great Czech novel about the 2nd half of the 20th century. The novel is thrilling, historical and full of love.