Original title: Hoří ti táta
Genre: novel
Publisher:
Host, 2026
ISBN: 978-80-275-2999-5
Pages: 216
A novel about how politics is always personal — and sometimes deadly
A man has set fire to himself in front of the Chamber of Deputies. The reason for the act is unclear; it may have something to do with a challenge set by a populist extremist. Lada is a successful writer – and the daughter of the man who self-immolated in protest. She is grieving, angry, searching for her father’s motives. On top of this, she has been struggling to come up with good ideas, and her publisher is demanding a book. The inevitable happens: the family investigation feeds into a manuscript. And Lada’s life turns into a hell as she is forced to confront populists, a divided society and her own complicated relationship with her father.
"In her new novel, Viktorie Hanišová sticks with the theme of a family tragedy. This time, however, it is not the focus of the work, but her point of view: this tragedy is both personal and political. The author has entered the realm of social fiction – with more than impressive results."
— Zdeněk Staszek, editor
"How do you write about someone else’s tragic story? Someone close, yet a stranger? Hanišová, one of the most distinctive figures in contemporary Czech fiction, has this time embarked on a social novel. She explores the roots of political populism and a divided nation – and she manages to write about tragedy in a way that makes you laugh, no matter how wearily."
Jonáš Zbořil, Seznam Zprávy
"What can be done when disinformers, Nazis, and conspirators are increasingly on the rampage throughout today’s world? How can we cope with the fact that global and local politics are being taken over by cynical, self-centred monsters whose only goal is money and immediate power? Author Viktorie Hanišová tries to provide an answer with her new prose work, a novella with the catchy title – Your Dad’s Burning.
(…)
There are a number of dichotomies in play from the outset, injecting tension into the text in various ways. Between the father that Lada remembers and the caricature that he has transformed into in recent years. Between Lada the daughter and Lada the writer. Between the desire to write and the right to write. Between the author’s text and the editor’s comments. Conversely, however, between the head of the conspiratorial movement and an insecure goblin who hides behind the mask of a world-redeemer.
But the root is always the same. Existential. Psychological. Anxiety over a highly demanding life and a complicated world, and fear of personal responsibility. This is where it all breaks down: into the rejected reality and its distorted, simplified alternative. For which someone is willing to make the ultimate sacrifice. But this is what Viktorie Hanišová has always written about."
Radim Kopáč, idnes.cz
"A shocking act committed in front of the Chamber of Deputies sets off a chain of events that will keep you up at night. When a man sets himself on fire in a protest, his daughter Lada, a successful writer, sets out to find the truth. Her furious search for her father’s motives also intersects with a creative crisis and gradually turns into the subject of a new book. But the quest for answers drags her into a personal hell full of political extremism, a discordant society and unresolved family traumas. A poignantly timely and chilling story showing that ultimately revenge is never a true victory."
Dominika Stachurová, Moje psychologie
