Fun English language books set in Prague and Budapest
July 30, 2015 5:59 AM Subscribe
What are some fun genre books set in Prague and Budapest? I'm going on vacation there soon and would like to get in the mood beforehand and also have a few things to read while traveling. Any genre, mystery, thriller, ya, romance...literary is fine as long as it's fairly accessible. Thank you!
Prague by Arthur Phillips is about a group of young (20s) US (mainly) expats living in Budapest iirc, so perfect!
posted by janey47 at 7:19 AM on July 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by janey47 at 7:19 AM on July 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
It's a mystery (sort of) only partially set in Prague, but in "flashback" which gave me a sense of Prague in another time & made me want to go there before it was too late. (I did & enjoyed it immensely)
The Drowning People by Richard Mason
posted by Laura in Canada at 7:53 AM on July 30, 2015
The Drowning People by Richard Mason
posted by Laura in Canada at 7:53 AM on July 30, 2015
The Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor is a YA fantasy that partially takes place in Prague.
posted by wsquared at 8:19 AM on July 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by wsquared at 8:19 AM on July 30, 2015 [1 favorite]
By Night Under The Stone Bridge is a magical history novel by Leo Perutz, set in Prague's old Jewish quarter and at the Castle
posted by MinPin at 9:57 AM on July 30, 2015
posted by MinPin at 9:57 AM on July 30, 2015
Truck Stop Rainbows by Iva Pekárková.
posted by bitter-girl.com at 11:21 PM on July 30, 2015
posted by bitter-girl.com at 11:21 PM on July 30, 2015
There's Kafka, of course: but if Kafka seems too heavy for holiday reading, check out Gustav Meyrink's The Golem. H.P. Lovecraft, no less, described it as 'the most magnificent weird thing I've come across in aeons!'
If you like thrillers, Lionel Davidson's The Night of Wenceslas and Joseph Kanon's The Prodigal Spy are both partly set in Cold War Prague.
posted by verstegan at 2:04 AM on July 31, 2015 [1 favorite]
If you like thrillers, Lionel Davidson's The Night of Wenceslas and Joseph Kanon's The Prodigal Spy are both partly set in Cold War Prague.
posted by verstegan at 2:04 AM on July 31, 2015 [1 favorite]
For Prague related reading-
Bohumil Hrabal's short stories are very good, very readable, despite being highly regarded as "literature".
The Good Soldier Svejk is good (and fairly thick if quantity is important to you) and might even have a couple of bits in Budapest (it starts in Prague but then takes in different parts of the Austro-Hungarian Empire).
posted by Gratishades at 8:38 AM on August 3, 2015
Bohumil Hrabal's short stories are very good, very readable, despite being highly regarded as "literature".
The Good Soldier Svejk is good (and fairly thick if quantity is important to you) and might even have a couple of bits in Budapest (it starts in Prague but then takes in different parts of the Austro-Hungarian Empire).
posted by Gratishades at 8:38 AM on August 3, 2015
Prague Summer (I found this while searching for the same thing as you -- I was surprised how few books were set in Prague. When you're here, feel free to reach out and we can hang out!)
posted by aaanastasia at 3:40 AM on August 13, 2015
posted by aaanastasia at 3:40 AM on August 13, 2015
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posted by CheeseLouise at 7:07 AM on July 30, 2015