Monika Zgustová Explained

Monika Zgustová
Birth Date:	22 March 1957
Birth Place:	Prague, Czech Republic
Nationality:	Czech, Spanish ^[1]
Occupation:	Writer and translator
Period:	1980–present
Notableworks:	Dressed for a Dance in the Snow, The Silent Woman, Roses from Stalin

Monika Zgustová (22 March 1957, Prague)^[2] is a Czech writer and translator.^[3] She is a key figure in the introduction of Czech literature in Spain,^[4] translating into Spanish and Catalan.^[2]

Biography

She studied comparative literature at the University of Illinois in the 1970s.^[5] Since the 1980s, she has lived in Barcelona.^[6]

She is the translator of many major works of Czech fiction; she has translated more than fifty books from Czech and Russian into Spanish and Catalan, including works by Bohumil Hrabal, Jaroslav Hašek, Václav Havel, Jaroslav Seifert, Milan Kundera, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Isaac Babel, Anna Akhmatova and Marina Tsvetaeva.^[7] She regularly writes articles and editorials for El País (Spain),^[8] La Vanguardia (Spain),^{[7] [9]} The Nation (USA),^[10] and Lidové Noviny (Czech Republic).

Zgustova's most acclaimed books are Dressed for a Dance in the Snow (2020), named a Notable Translated Book of the Year by World Literature Today,^[11] an account of women's resilience in Stalin's forced labor camps,^[12] The Silent Woman (2005), a novel which encompasses three generations of Czechs, Russians and Americans, and Roses from Stalin (2015), a novel based on Stalin's daughter Svetlana's life story.

Zgustova has been praised internationally since 2005 and her works have been translated into ten languages.^{[13] [14]} She has received more than 10 awards and honors.^{[7] [15] [16] [17]}

Works

Non-Fiction

• Beautiful Stranger. Prague and its uprooted culture (2021)
• Dressed for a Dance in the Snow (2020, Other Press,)^[18] Original Spanish version Vestidas para un baile en la nieve (2017)^[19]
• The Intruder. An Intimate Portrait of Gala Dalí (2018)
• The Bitter Fruit of the Garden of Delights: Life and Work of Bohumil Hrabal (2014)

Fiction

• We Saw Each Other Better in the Darkness (2022) Original Spanish title Nos veíamos mejor en la oscuridad (2022)^[20]
• A Revolver for Going out at Night with (2019)
• Roses from Stalin (2015)
• Valya's Night (2013)
• The Silent Woman (2013, Feminist Press,) Original Czech title Tichá žena^[21]
• Fresh Mint with Lemon (2013, Open Road) (Original Czech version Peppermint Frappé, 2002)
• Goya's Glass (2012, Feminist Press,)^[22]
• Absent Moon (2010)
• Winter Garden (2009)
• The Good Soldier Švejk (a play; 2005)

Awards and honors

• Finalist for The Great Literary Thursday Award (Velký knižní čtvrtek) for We Saw Each Other Better in the Darkness (Potmě jsme se viděli lépe), Czech Republic 2022
• Notable Translated Book of the Year by World Literature Today for Dressed for a Dance in the Snow, 2020
• Booksellers recommend (Los libreros recomiendan) for A Revolver For Going Out At Night With, Spain 2019
• Cálamo award, Book of the Year for Dressed for a Dance in the Snow (Vestidas para un baile en la nieve), Spain 2017
• Amat-Piniella award, for Valya's Night, Spain 2014
• Angel Crespo award, for the translation of Jaroslav Hašek's Las aventuras del buen soldado Švejk, Spain 2010
• Mercè Rodoreda award for Absent Moon (Contes de la lluna absent), Spain 2009
• Finalist for Premio Nacional de la Crítica for The Silent Woman (La mujer silenciosa), Spain 2005
• Gratias Agit award, for her global work, Czech Republic 2004
• Ciutat de Barcelona award, for the translation of Jaroslav Hašek's Les aventures del bon soldat Švejk, Spain 1995
• European Award for Translation for Václav Havel's Letters to Olga, 1994

External links

• Official website
• Articles written by Monika Zgustova at EL PAÍS Newspaper
• Monika Zgustova at The Nation Newspaper
• Monika Zgustova at La Maleta de Portbou
• Five Best: Monika Zgustova on women of the gulag - Wall Street Journal
• In Celebration of Bookstores Reopening - Literary Hub

Notes and References

1. Web site: Monika Zgustova y las mujeres del GULAG . El País . 21 May 2021.
2. Web site: Katalogy a databáze NK ČR . Aleph.nkp.cz . 2016-05-11.
3. Web site: Edición del miércoles, 08 diciembre 2010, página 6 - Hemeroteca - Lavanguardia.es . es . Hemeroteca.lavanguardia.com . 2016-05-11.
4. Web site: iLiteratura - Zgustová, Monika . Iliteratura.cz . 2016-02-09 . 2016-05-11.
5. Web site: Monika Zgustova . Visat.cat . 2016-05-11.
6. Web site: Edición del miércoles, 20 agosto 2008, página 3 - Hemeroteca - Lavanguardia.es . es . Hemeroteca.lavanguardia.com . 2008-08-20 . 2016-05-11.
7. Web site: Zgustová Janouskova, Monika . Lletrescatalanes.cat . 1957-03-22 . 2016-05-11.
8. Web site: Artículos escritos por Monika Zgustova | EL PAÍS . Elpais.com . 2016-05-11.
9. Web site: monika zgustova (1-9 de 242) Buscador Hemeroteca - Lavanguardia.es . es . Hemeroteca.lavanguardia.com . 2016-05-11.
10. Web site: Monika Zgustova . The Nation . 2016-05-11.
11. Web site: World Literature Today's 75 Notable Translations of 2020 . World Literature Today . 21 May 2021.
12. Web site: Dressed for a Dance in the Snow . Other Press . 21 May 2021.
13. Web site: Monika Zgustova Jamuskova | Grup62 . Grup62.cat . 2016-05-11.
14. Web site: Dressed for a Dance in the Snow . Indie Bound . 24 October 2021.
15. Web site: The Silent Woman by Monika Zgustova, to be published in the US in March 2014 by Feminist Press - News - Institut Ramon Llull – Catalan Language and culture abroad . fr . Llull.cat . 2016-05-11.
16. Web site: Monika Zgustova . The Feminist Press . 2016-05-11 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160602131642/http://www.feministpress.org/books/monika-zgustova . 2016-06-02 . dead .
17. Web site: Monika Zgustová gana el Premio Ángel Crespo por su traducción de Hasek . Lavanguardia.com . 2015-01-26 . 2016-05-11.
18. Book: Catalogue record: Dressed for a dance in the snow : women's voices from the Gulag . Worldcat . 1110129637 . 21 May 2021.
19. Book: Catalogue record: Vestidas para un baile en la nieve . Worldcat . 1104455386 . 21 May 2021.
20. Web site: NOS VEÍAMOS MEJOR EN LA OSCURIDAD . La Casa del Libro . 8 March 2023.
21. Book: Catalogue record: The Silent Woman. Worldcat. 864789727 . 11 May 2016.
22. Book: Catalogue record: Goya's Glass. Worldcat. 756581555 . 11 May 2016.