Ivan Klima on his memoir My Crazy Century

I met with famed Czech writer/novelist Ivan Klima at his home in Prague to  talk about his memoir My Crazy Century. Topics covered include the criminal conspiracy of communism, the impact on his life of the Terazin concentration camp, the thrill of freedom, forests, poisonous mushrooms, communist stupidity and lack of common sense, Potemkin villages, political apathy, great literature describing complications in human relationships, fiction as invention not real life, socialism's lack of productivity, Philip Roth's understanding of persecution, the value of old maps, Samizdat literature, Kafka, and the novel Love and Garbage We're joined by Ivan's son, and grand-daughter, to help with translation, and by a squeaky chair, but I don't have to tell you that. Please keep in mind that Ivan is today a man in his late eighties. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thebibliofile.substack.com/subscribe