Občanský průkaz

The Citizen's Card was the name of a red booklet, without which a resident of socialist Czechoslovakia over the age of fifteen could not even go to empty the trash, and in which all important information from education to employment was written. At the same time, it was a magical formula that the police used to legitimise non-conformist youths, which was usually just a pretext for bullying.

Petr Šabach depicts a time imbued with absurdity, fear of the cops, suspicion and violence, but also a longing for freedom and a desire to escape the leaden grey of everyday life. It depicts the contemporary atmosphere of Czech hippies and maniacs, the Prague pub underground, as well as the after-action and drifting through the pernicious social climate. He writes with a narrative commitment and sense of humour that places him alongside Bohumil Hrabal, and his prose is rightly considered a modern classic.