Od pekelných nocí k radostnému ránu (objev a omyl à la Páral)
From Infernal Nights to a Joyful Morning (A Discovery and a Mistake Concerning Vladimir Paral)

Summary/Abstract: The study corrects the idea of a sudden and surprising appearance of Paral’s typical creative method and points out that it had already been used, though in an embryonic form, in Paral’s fogotten novel Šest pekelných nocí (Six Infernal Nights) that had been published under a pseudonyme of Jan Laban before the publication of Veletrh splněných přání (A Fair of Fulfilled Wishes) a novel that is generally taken for Paral’s debut. Author of the study also proves that Irena Zítková, a publishing editor, played an important part in finalizing Veletrh splněných přání (and therefore even in finalizing Paral’s method). In its second part, the study tries to answer the question whether in the beginning of the 1970s, Vladimir Paral opportunistically conformed to the normalization policy of creating optimistic literary works or only realized the second part of his own literary project that he had planned before the change in the political climate. In the project, a sceptical (black) pentalogy should have been followed by a series of positive (white) proses. The reason why one of the most problematic parts of the white series, a novella titled Radost až do rána (Joy till the Morning) is rightfully considered as the author’s mistake should not been seen in Paral’s alleged conformity with the official policy but in unclear signals that the novel is a parody of the prescribed literary model.

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