Sat 28/2 19:30
Martin Kanaloš: Já, Tran a všechno ostatní (Me, Tran and Everything Else)
Dezider is half Romani, Tran is half Vietnamese. Only when they are together do they feel less alone. The protagonists of Martin Kanaloš’s debut novel Já, Tran a všechno ostatní (Me, Tran and Everything Else) grow up on a small-town housing estate, in incomplete families, and on the margins of their peers’ attention. They are not only grappling with prejudices linked to skin colour, but also with the feeling that they do not belong anywhere. Together they spend time stargazing, watching films, and dreaming of a different, fairer world that seems farther away than the nearest galaxy.
Martin Kanaloš knows how to tell a story with lightness, self-irony, and sensitivity, without shying away from uncomfortable topics. In his book, prejudice falls on everyone—Roma, Vietnamese, “white” Czechs, and those who do not fit expected social roles. The author shows that stereotypical thinking is not the preserve of any one group, and that even an intelligent and empathetic protagonist can be led astray by it.
Born in Sokolov into a Czech-Romani family, Martin Kanaloš draws on his own experience as an outsider—someone who, from an early age, was drawn more to books, philosophy, and the stars than to the mainstream interests of his peers. A graduate in art history from Charles University, he has been writing for more than ten years and has long explored themes of identity, origin, and not fitting in. Nevertheless, he rejects having his prose read solely as “minority” literature. His novel speaks to anyone who has ever felt they might fit better in another galaxy than in the world around them.
The author reading will be interspersed with a discussion with the author. The author reading and discussion will be held in the Czech language.
www.kher.cz
The event takes place as part of the Textconnexion 2026 project, with financial support from the Statutory City of Pardubice and the Pardubice Region.
Admission: CZK 100 (tickets available at the door)
Programme of Divadlo 29
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