Word: kriseova
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...steps in Havel's political ascent are heavily detailed. One feels the incredulousness that Kriseova, Havel, and other felt in 1988 and 1989 at finally seeing their dreams within reach. She does not attempt to hide the difficulties involved in acutually running the country once that euphoria disipated. "The intellectual wants to create ideas, but he doesn't want to repeat them or force them on anyone. Therefore he's not too successful at the practice of politics...
...destruction of personal responsibility. Havel's major theme, in his writings as in his life, is the negation of value and the moral imperative for action by each individual. These are themes he shares with other writers of contemporary Eastern Europe such as Milan Kundera or Czeslaw Milosz. Kriseova excellently illustrates the centrality of these issues to both daily life and the political arena. In Czechoslovakia there can be no doubt that the artistic, the philosophical, or the details of daily life are political...
...Spring" in 1968, a short period of relative freedom which was abruptly ended by the Soviet invasion, set Havel's political career in motion. The significance of this period in recent Czech history is equalled only by the "Velvet Revolution" of 1989, during which Havel himself assumed the presidency. Kriseova explains how the oppressiveness of the 1950s had suffocated the peoples' voices of opposition. "After a shock, society comes to its senses slowly, one person at a time." Havel entered into an arena which would become increasingly political and further from the artistic circles where he had previously been known...
Because of his involvement with Charter 77, which questioned the mechanisms of government control, Havel spent most of his time either in prison or under house arrest. His plays continued to win acclaim abroad although they were banned in Czechoslovakia. Kriseova documents each interrogation, trial and prison term and their effects on the government's hold on the people as well as on Havel's development as a spokesperson for his people. Here, Kriseova's narrative combines her own experiences, the experiences of other people in their political circles, and descriptions of Havel's actions and writings. At times...
...intellectuals and their poetic sensibilities of truth became a public force in the political arena. This is a noteworthy book about a remarkable man in a remarkable time. Given the unimaginable nature of the challenges of Vaclav Havel's life, it would have been difficult for Kriseova to write anything besides a fairy tale, in which, at the last, good wins out over evil...