The Visible World - by Mark Slouka (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

An immensely moving, powerfully romantic novel about the vagaries of love and the legacy of war, The Visible World is narrated by the American-born son of Czech immigrants. His New York childhood, lived in a boisterous community of the displaced, is suffused with stories: fragments of European history, Czech fairy tales, and family secrets gleaned from overheard conversations. Central in his young imagination is the heroic account of the seven Czech parachutists who, in 1942, assassinated a high-ranking Nazi. Yet one essential story has always evaded him: his mother's. He suspects she had a great wartime love, the loss of which bred a sadness that slowly engulfed her. As an adult, the narrator travels to Prague, hoping to piece together her hidden past.

Review Quotes

"An eloquent testament to the power of storytelling." Kirkus Reviews

"The sheer beauty of Mark Slouka's prose will draw comparisons to The English Patient." --Gary Shteyngart

"It's a triumph of story-telling...When has an elegy ever been so passionate, and historical moment so fully imagined?" -- Patricia Hampl

"Sentence for sentence, word for word, Mark Slouka is one of our very best writers...a book that will last." --Colum McCann

"Mark Slouka has written a staggeringly beautiful novel. " --Daniel Alarcón

"His novel's power lives in the imaginative effort...to portray loss that is inherited...It's a moving book." -Richard Ford

"[Slouka's] style seamlessly merges a simple clarity with atmospheric lushness...[The Visible World] is this gifted writer's most ambitious book." --Stuart Dybek

"Mark Slouka, with this novel, proves what an exceptional writer he is...a master of the American vernacular." --Amit Chaudhuri

"The Visible World is a beautifully written and thrilling poem about love...[It's] a book you can't put down." --Richard Bausch

"Rich with intelligence and poetic detail, The Visible World demonstrates why Mark Slouka is one of our finest contemporary novelists." -Elizabeth Berg

"A masterful work, it calls to mind the very finest Czech writers...I will re-read [it] again and again." -Steve Yarbrough

"Mark Slouka's elegant book keeps alive the essential mystery of life - love." -Norman Manea

"The Visible World reveals what is invisible within us. It's a pure pleasure to turn its pages." -- Ha Jin

"The Visible World gains on itself from page to page...a genuine page turner." --Sven Birkerts

"Slouka's characters pop...and he demonstrates a shattering ability to capture humanity in its bleakest moments." Entertainment Weekly