''The Miracle Game'' (originally ''Mirákl'') is a Czech novel by

Josef Škvorecký Josef Škvorecký (; September 27, 1924 – January 3, 2012) was a Czech-Canadian writer and publisher. He spent half of his life in Canada, publishing and supporting banned Czech literature during the communist era. Škvorecký was awarded the ...

published in 1972 by Sixty Eight Publishers in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Canada. It was translated into English in 1990 by Paul Wilson, and according to ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' is Skvorecky's masterpiece. It was his response to

Prague Spring The Prague Spring (; ) was a period of liberalization, political liberalization and mass protest in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. It began on 5 January 1968, when reformist Alexander Dubček was elected Secretary (title), First Secre ...

events of 1968

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

. and contains unflattering references to real people, Future Czech President

Václav Havel Václav Havel (; 5 October 193618 December 2011) was a Czech statesman, author, poet, playwright, and dissident. Havel served as the last List of presidents of Czechoslovakia, president of Czechoslovakia from 1989 until 1992, prior to the dissol ...

becomes "the world-famous playwright Hejl", the writer Vladimír Páral appears as the "gifted non-party novelist Nabal".from ''Publishers Weekly''
Retrieved 10th Aug 2014.

Plot introduction

In a Bohemian church in 1948 an apparent miracle is denounced as a hoax by the Communist party. Danny Smiricky (the hero of Škvorecký's 1977 novel ''The Engineer of Human Souls'' who also appeared in the previous novel "The Cowards") was present at the church but slept through the event. Twenty years later the case is re-examined during the Prague Spring.

References

External links

Books of The Times; Tricks, Miracles and Consequences
by Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', Published: February 7, 1991.
Kirkus Reviews
1972 Czech novels Novels set in Czechoslovakia Fiction set in 1948 Fiction set in 1968 Prague Spring {{1970s-hist-novel-stub