Pan Theodor Mundstock (Mr. Theodore Mundstock) is the debut novel by Czech author Ladislav Fuks, first published in 1963.[1] The English translation by Iris Urwin was published by Orion Press, New York, in 1968.[2]
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It tells the story of a Jew in Prague in 1942, during the German occupation of Czechoslovakia, who is waiting to be deported to the concentration camps but trying to maintain as normal an existence as possible.[2] When the occupying Nazis force him to leave the rope shop he owns, Mundstock's psyche starts to crack. Seeing the camps as inevitable, he later starts practising for life in them.[3]
Pan Theodor Mundstock (Mr. Theodore Mundstock) is the debut novel by Czech author Ladislav Fuks, first published in 1963. The English translation by Iris Urwin was published by Orion Press, New York, in 1968. Who would play mayor Rob Ford in the movie version of the ongoing crack scandal? Many observers have noted this week that Chris Farley had the requisite girth, complexion and hair colour (Steven.
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Publication[edit]
Fuks completed the novel in summer 1961 but it was not published until 1963 because early readers were critical of it. It was described variously as verbose, depressing and overly given to mysticism. It was published on the recommendation of Ivan Klíma.[4]
Reception[edit]
On its publication in 1963, Pan Theodor Mundstock was met with 'universal critical acclaim'.[4] It was also well received in translation.
In a review for The New York Times, Richard M. Elman described the book as 'brilliant' and said of it that 'Ladislav Fuks's novel is not just another pious Holocaust book; it is acute, unsentimental, and unsparing, a work of intricate but compassionate narrative art, as if Kafka's K had literally confronted the crematoria.' He highlighted how Mundstock's attempts to keep up a normal life 'makes the trap he is in all the more absolute and terrifying' and praised the book both for the quality of its translation and the way 'its artfulness, though always functional, is never permitted to victimize the humanity of Mundstock'.[2]
Webster Schott in Life magazine called it 'one of literature's near miracles' and 'excruciatingly poignant, clear and hard as diamonds in its English translation by Iris Urwin', saying that it 'catapults Ladislav Fuks, Mundstock's 44-year-old Czech creator, into the first rank of contemporary literary moralists.'[3]
Adaptations[edit]
Pan Theodor Mundstock was adapted for the stage as Mr. M in 2011 by Vít Hořejš. It was performed by The Czechoslovak-American Marionette Theatre at Theater for the New City and JCC Manhattan. The name is an allusion to K in Franz Kafka's unfinished novel The Castle.[5]
In 2016, a Czech language stage adaptation written by Miloš Horanský and starring Vojtěch Dyk as Mundstock was performed at the Veletržní Palác, part of the National Gallery in Prague. The adaptation was praised for its performances but criticised by some critics for straying from the novel in its characterisation.[6][7]
References[edit]
- ^Winner, Thomas G. (1973). 'Leonard Fuks'. In Collins, Robert G.; McRobbie, Kenneth (eds.). The Eastern European Imagination in Literature. New views: A Mosaic Series in Literature. 16. University of Manitoba Press. p. 114. ISBN9780919475106.
- ^ abcElman, Richard M. (28 January 1968). 'Anatomy of Terror'. The New York Times. p. 96. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
- ^ abSchott, Webster (26 January 1968). 'Minor Miracle of a Czech Everyman'. Life. p. 8. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
- ^ abPynsent, Robert B. (2004). 'Ladislav Fuks'. In Sicher, Efraim (ed.). Holocaust Novelists. Dictionary of Literary Biography. 299. Gale. pp. 89–94. ISBN0-7876-6836-2.
- ^Merwin, Ted (5 April 2011). 'Preparing For The Inevitable'. The New York Jewish Week. The Times of Israel.
- ^Šťástka, Tomáš (30 May 2016). 'Vojta Dyk tančí, zpívá, vzdoruje smrti. A komíny lágrů dýmají'. iDNES.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 24 July 2018.
- ^Hrdinová, Radmila (21 June 2016). 'Pan Theodor Ahasver spíš než Mundstock'. Novinky.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 24 July 2018.
Further reading[edit]
- Holý, Jiří (2008). Writers Under Siege: Czech Literature Since 1945. Sussex Academic Press. ISBN978-1-84519-190-0.
- Klíma, Cynthia A. (8 May 2002). 'Mr. Theodore Mundstock'. In Riggs, Thomas (ed.). Reference Guide to Holocaust Literature. 1. St. James Press. ISBN978-1-55862-467-2.– via Encyclopedia.com
- Wohlgelernter, Maurice (2000). 'Silent Preparation'. Jewish Writers/Irish Writers: Selected Essays on the Love of Words. Transaction Publishers. pp. 13–16. ISBN978-1-4128-2690-7.
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| Author | Kevin Kelly |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subject | Culture, Human, Life, Technology |
| Publisher | Viking Press |
| 2016 | |
| Media type | Print (Hardback) |
| Pages | 336 |
| ISBN | 978-0-525-42808-4 |
The Inevitable is a 2016 nonfiction book by Kevin Kelly that forecasts the twelve technological forces that will shape the next thirty years.[1]
Summary[edit]
According to Kelly, much of what will happen in the next thirty years is inevitable.[2] The future will bring with it even more screens, tracking, and lack of privacy.[3] In the book he outlines twelve trends that will forever change the ways in which we work, learn and communicate:[4] The chapters are organized by these forces.[5]
- Becoming: Moving from fixed products to always upgrading services and subscriptions
- Cognifying: Making everything much smarter using cheap powerful AI that we get from the cloud
- Flowing: Depending on unstoppable streams in real time for everything
- Screening: Turning all surfaces into screens
- Accessing: Shifting society from one where we own assets to one where instead we will have access to services at all times[6]
- Sharing: Collaboration at mass scale. Kelly writes, 'On my imaginary Sharing Meter Index we are still at 2 out of 10.'
- Filtering: Harnessing intense personalization in order to anticipate our desires
- Remixing: Unbundling existing products into their most primitive parts and then recombining in all possible ways
- Interacting: Immersing ourselves inside our computers to maximize their engagement
- Tracking: Employing total surveillance for the benefit of citizens and consumers
- Questioning: Promoting good questions is far more valuable than good answers
- Beginning: Constructing a planetary system connecting all humans and machines into a global matrix[7]
Critical response[edit]
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Kirkus Reviews notes that 'Kelly’s arguments ring true, and his enthusiasm [about the future] is contagious'.[8]Publishers Weekly also highlights that this book reflect Kelly's 'optimistic and arguably idealistic view' and that he 'chooses to elide discussions of the specific downsides that likely will accompany the changes he describes'.[9]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^Cadwalladr, Carole (June 2, 2016). 'Digital prophet Kevin Kelly: I've learned a lot from Spielberg'. The Guardian. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
- ^Wallace Wells, David. 'Talking With Kevin Kelly About the Future of Tech and Our Species Identity Crisis'. New York Magazine.
- ^Grant Burningham Kevin Kelly On the Soft Singularity and Inevitable Tech Advances , Newsweek, June 2, 2016.
- ^'THE INEVITABLE Understanding the 12 Technological Forces that Will Shape Our Future'. Kirkus Reviews.
- ^Bhaskar Chakravorti. 'The Inevitable: Understanding the 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future'. www.nyjournalofbooks.com. Retrieved 2018-01-08.
- ^Matchar, Emily. 'Wired Founder Kevin Kelly On the Technologies That Will Dominate Our Future'. Smithsonian Magazine.
- ^Kelly, K. (2016). The Inevitable pp. 1-336. New York: Penguin Group.
- ^'The Inevitable'. April 30, 2016. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
- ^'The Inevitable: Understanding the 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future by Kevin Kelly'. PublishersWeekly.com. June 2016. Retrieved December 26, 2019.