The Mushroom Gatherer - (The Czech List) by Viktorie Hanisová (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

In a forest where every step is familiar, Sára searches for mushrooms--but what she unearths instead are the long-buried truths of her own life.

Nestled deep in the Bohemian Forest, Sára's world is quiet and bound to the rhythms of nature. She has wandered the same wooded trails for seven years, filling her basket with mushrooms, her pockets with memories, and her thoughts with the past she cannot quite escape. The solitude suits her--until the death of her mother forces her to confront the tangled roots of family and the wounds that never fully healed. As Sára meticulously sorts through chanterelles and boletes, she also sorts through childhood recollections and the uneasy inheritance of trauma. The forest offers refuge, but it also holds secrets, and as the seasons shift, so does Sára's understanding of herself and the complicated bonds that tether her to the world.

With melodic prose and an acute sensitivity to how landscapes shape lives, Viktorie Hanisová crafts a novel of quiet intensity and deep introspection. The Mushroom Gatherer is a haunting meditation on loss and the delicate balance between isolation and connection, perfect for readers drawn to atmospheric fiction.

Review Quotes

"The Mushroom Gatherer is borne along in a gently meditative spirit, with streams of thought and rather sporadic dialogues dominated by descriptions of nature, memories of childhood spent in the Posumaví region and extensive, detailed commentaries on the world of mushrooms."--Praise for the Czech original "Lucie Zelinková, Právo"

"[A book] with no false tears shows just what deep marks can be left in us by the treachery of those closest to us."--Praise for the Czech original "Petra Smítalová, Lidové noviny"

"Viktorie Hanisová has a sense for the structure of a novel plot, excellently mastering subtle distinctions in the characters' psychology. In descriptions and direct speech, she writes in a highly visual, almost filmic manner. Artistically, everything works excellently here, enhancing our impression of the subject involved, and enabling her to grow beyond."--Praise for the Czech original "Radim Kopác, Týdeník Rozhlas"

About the Author

Viktorie Hanisová explores themes of trauma, motherhood, and societal issues in her acclaimed works. Her novels Anezka, The Mushroom Gatherer, and Reconstruction form a loose trilogy on trauma and family dynamics. A graduate of Charles University, Prague, Hanisová also writes short stories and works as a translator and language teacher. Véronique Firkusny is a translator and executive director of the Avery Fisher Artist Program at Lincoln Center. She coaches opera singers in Czech diction in New York City and her notable translations include Kateřina Tučková's Gerta and Daniela Hodrová's trilogy City of Torment (with Elena Sokol).