This is a fine collection of inter-connected short stories by Czech writer Joseph Škvorecký. Škvorecký writes of a serious subject, describing the atmosphere in Czechoslovakia as the oppressive hand of Stalinism descends upon the country in the years immediately following World War 2. But Škvorecký tells these tales with a sly, sardonic wit and a keen eye for the absurdity of the situation, (think Kafka with a strong element of Joseph Heller), as college graduates are sent to work in factories, farmers sent to technical engineering school, and people begin getting arrested for very little reason. One early story illustrates the process through which a dedicated anti-Communist little by little because wholly co-opted into the new paradigm under the rationale of "saving what can be saved." The stories are all told through the eyes of a political "innocent," a tenor saxophonist who measures the changing political climate by whether or not, at any given time, his band is allowed to play bebop and blues.

Here's a sampling of Škvorecký's style in these tales, from the story "How They Got Nabbed":

"Then official lightning struck several times in rapid succession as far as jazz and bebop were concerned, and some drunk sat down on top of Paul's vibes. We barely managed to scrape up a few gigs in the few joints left tor the non-builders of socialism. I lost track of Paul. He did meet me a couple of times and tried to talk me into joining up with Nutsbellow; he enticed me with trousers made over from American offers' pinks, cartons of Chesterfields and a pornographic magazine with stereoscopic glasses that made the pictures burst right out of the page. But I was wary and chose to pretend that I was lazy and liked to sleep during the day."

The stories are short and the reading is easy, but the collection leaves you with some things to ponder. ( )

An uneven story with flashes of brillance. ( )