Books to Read Before You Go To Prague

Subversive and psychologically haunting, the brilliant literature of Prague reflects the city, culture and mentality of the Czech people. Nothing can prepare you better for your visit than the books below.

The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera

If you haven’t read Kundera’s masterpiece yet, now is the time to do it. Surprisingly digestible yet staggeringly philosophical, The Unbearable Lightness of Being is a treatise on both the Czech national identity and self-identity. Do not miss this book before you go to Prague.

The Trial by Franz Kafka

Is Prague Kafkaesque or is Kafka Prague-esque? Which came first, the writer or the city? Discover for yourself how the two are inseparable in The Trial, or any of the legendary writer’s short stories.

The Golem by Gustav Meyrink

No city could be a better setting for a gothic tale of horror than Prague. The Golem delivers an exploration of the conscious and the subconscious only possible in the ghettos of Prague.

The Other City by Michal Ajvaz

There is another Prague that lurks beneath the veneer of the city, speculates Ajvaz, one filled with ghosts and secret passages. You won’t find this abstract fable difficult to believe after you’ve walked Prague’s cobblestoned alleys.

Too Loud a Solitude by Bohumil Hrabal

This short text from an author censored by the communist party hasn’t lost any of its power 40 years later. It’s a subversive parable about a haunted man who works as a compacter of wastepaper and books and who becomes unable to differentiate his own thoughts from that of his work.