Radůza, Dagmar Urbánková / The Stork is Not a Condor

The singer, musician and a songwriter Radůza wrote thirteen stories about her childhood. Special and strange, she brilliantly catches the reality of the late 70s. Through the eyes of a thin headstrong girl, who, though only 4, knows what’s what. Radůza tells stories about a family, a village and provides a sensitive literary account of her grandparents and family adventures.

In stories with titles such as Porch, Condor, Swaddling Blanket, etc. she depicts her grandma, grandpa and above all the carousel of their country life: the fair, a birthday, work in the yard, rabbit killing, dog’s illnesses, small village catastrophes (fires, deaths) as well as insignificant details such as sweeping crumbs from a plastic tablecloth, which give the text a vividly tangible dimension and take us into the atmosphere of a village that has actually disappeared.

And she’s gone even further: using these beautifully drawn memories she has created living and breathing characters: the grandpa, a convinced communist who is exceptional for his determination, her kind grandma, troubled by life, and above all the thin girl, whose parents leave her with her grandparents till they solve their personal problems and who doesn´t want to eat anything and worries grandma with her oversensitive and wild character.

Illustrated by Dagmar Urbánková