Aviaries

This novella, published by Twisted Spoon Press, is a tapestry of diary entries, vignettes, dreams, and reflections, interwoven with poetry and prose excerpts, notably from C.G. Jung. It captures the life of a woman in Prague's Smíchov district, where her experiences blur the lines between reality and imagination. Interactions with her mother, sister, and daughter, along with other residents, create a phantasmagorical narrative reminiscent of Unica Zürn and Leonora Carrington. The backdrop of Václav Havel's death in 2011 sets the tone for a prose that pulsates with contemporary news, hallucinations, and wordplay, illustrating the isolation and confusion faced by those on society's fringes. The work presents a stark vision of modern Prague, where the bizarre and grotesque dominate everyday life. Brabcová's final novel, released before her untimely passing, was honored with the Josef Škvorecký Award in 2016 for best prose and was shortlisted for the Magnesia Litera Book of the Year Award in 2017.