The Apartment. A two-hander novel

An experimental novel set in the present

Daniel owns an apartment in Tábor that he lives in only at weekends, because he works in Prague. Having left her boyfriend, Zuzana is low on cash, so she is glad to pay rent on weekdays only. But for a space which each inhabits in their own way, Daniel and Zuzana have practically nothing in common; indeed, the shared space tends to divide rather than unite. Although he cares for a dying father, it always falls to her to handle life’s rougher edges. Two present-day stories that brush against one another but barely connect. Two soliloquies that the reader makes into a conversation.   

Jana Šrámková and Jan Němec have discovered an unusual way to write a book together, yet separately. The result is a highly original novel that can be read from one side or the other or by alternating the voices. But this is no literary game. The reader’s choice is a fateful one: Daniel and Zuzana’s whole future depends on the reader’s direction.

The authors say about their work: ‘We wanted to write a book together: because no one has done such a thing for a long time, and to discover what it’s like when the perspectives of different characters aren’t simulated by a single author. We also wanted to give readers the chance to read a novel from two sides, so deciding how it begins and ends.

Co-author's profile:

Jana Šrámková (b. 1982) is a prizewinning writer of fiction (Jiří Orten Prize for Peardottír / Hruškadóttir), children’s fiction (Magnesia Litera for Frankie Star-swimmer / Fánek hvězdoplavec), comics scripts (Muriel Prize for Matilda and the Pink Wolf / Matylda a Růžový vlk), and animated films (Czech Lion for Tony, Shelly and the Magic Light / Tonda, Slávka a kouzelné světlo); she also writes for the stage.