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'After the Velvet Revolution of 1989, Niqi Thomas, a young Czech Australian woman, returns with her father to Prague, to visit her ancestral city and to discover her grandfather, who was always ‘present’ in the family, but whom she had never met – Karel Goliath-Gorovsky, the Czech Solzhenitsyn.'
'For Niqi, it became a journey of self-discovery, through discovery of her grandfather. A rebel from birth, Czech lawyer, Karel Goliath-Gorovsky, was imprisoned in a Soviet gulag north of the Arctic Circle, because of his relentless political idealism. His potent black humour enabled him to survive those seventeen darkest years of his political life, which spanned from the brutal excesses of Stalin to the liberating hope of Dubcek.'
'His son, abandoned by his father at the age of one, developed his own black humour to survive Mischling status under the Nazi occupation, the Stalinist regime in his homeland, Czechoslovakia, and flight to Australia – his new land of opportunity where some people crossed the street when they saw a ‘wog’ approaching.'
'This family narrative includes a subversive retake on the biblical Goliath, who appears several times through the book, connecting Goliath-Gorovsky with the biblical character, who paradoxically, was killed by his Hebrew ancestors.' (Source: Publisher's website)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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The Need to Belong : Non-Fiction Publishing in Australia, 2003-2004
2004
single work
review
— Appears in: Westerly , November vol. 49 no. 2004; (p. 96-114)
— Review of Island and Otherland : Christopher Koch and His Books 2003 single work criticism ; The Diaries of Donald Friend. Volume 2 2003 selected work diary ; The Diaries of Miles Franklin 2004 selected work diary ; Can I Call You Colin? : The Authorised Biography of Colin Thiele 2004 single work biography ; The Sparrow Garden Marianna Lacek (translator), 2004 single work autobiography ; Minerva's Owl Excerpts from Exile 2003 single work biography ; Inside Out : An Autobiography 2004 single work autobiography ; Bittersweet Journey 2003 single work autobiography ; Bud : A Life 2004 single work autobiography ; Dhuuluu-Yala : To Talk Straight : Publishing Indigenous Literature 2003 multi chapter work criticism ; Two Sisters : Ngarta and Jukuna Eirlys Richards (translator), 2004 selected work autobiography biography ; Very Big Journey : My Life as I Remember It 2004 single work autobiography ; Shadow Lines 2003 single work biography ; Mongrel Signatures : Reflections on the Work of Mudrooroo 2003 anthology criticism ; The Station at Austin Downs : One Family's Adventure on the Land 2004 single work autobiography ; Down to the Sea : A True Saga of an Australian Fishing Dynasty 2004 single work biography ; Tanami : On Foot Across Australia's Desert Heart 2003 single work autobiography ; Great Australian Droving Stories 2003 selected work short story ; Great Australian Drinking Stories 2003 anthology short story prose ; James Stirling : Admiral and Founding Governor of Western Australia 2003 single work biography ; About Face : Asian Accounts of Australia 2003 single work criticism ; Chinese Women and the Global Village : An Australian Site 2003 single work prose ; Semar's Cave : An Indonesian Journal 2004 single work prose ; Life and Death in the Age of Sail : The Passage to Australia 2003 single work non-fiction ; The Girl from Botany Bay : The True Story of Mary Broad and Her Extraordinary Escape 2004 single work biography ; Legacies of White Australia : Race, Culture and Nation 2003 anthology essay ; The Best Australian Essays 2003 2003 anthology essay autobiography interview prose review obituary ; Death Sentence : The Decay of Public Language 2003 single work prose ; Great Australian Fishing Stories 2003 selected work short story -
Life Stories Told from Many Angles
2003
single work
review
— Appears in: The Australian Jewish News , 26 December vol. 70 no. 14 2003; (p. 18)
— Review of Minerva's Owl Excerpts from Exile 2003 single work biography -
Curious Outsider's Illuminating View of Prague
2003
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 15 November 2003; (p. 8a)
— Review of Minerva's Owl Excerpts from Exile 2003 single work biography
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Curious Outsider's Illuminating View of Prague
2003
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 15 November 2003; (p. 8a)
— Review of Minerva's Owl Excerpts from Exile 2003 single work biography -
Life Stories Told from Many Angles
2003
single work
review
— Appears in: The Australian Jewish News , 26 December vol. 70 no. 14 2003; (p. 18)
— Review of Minerva's Owl Excerpts from Exile 2003 single work biography -
The Need to Belong : Non-Fiction Publishing in Australia, 2003-2004
2004
single work
review
— Appears in: Westerly , November vol. 49 no. 2004; (p. 96-114)
— Review of Island and Otherland : Christopher Koch and His Books 2003 single work criticism ; The Diaries of Donald Friend. Volume 2 2003 selected work diary ; The Diaries of Miles Franklin 2004 selected work diary ; Can I Call You Colin? : The Authorised Biography of Colin Thiele 2004 single work biography ; The Sparrow Garden Marianna Lacek (translator), 2004 single work autobiography ; Minerva's Owl Excerpts from Exile 2003 single work biography ; Inside Out : An Autobiography 2004 single work autobiography ; Bittersweet Journey 2003 single work autobiography ; Bud : A Life 2004 single work autobiography ; Dhuuluu-Yala : To Talk Straight : Publishing Indigenous Literature 2003 multi chapter work criticism ; Two Sisters : Ngarta and Jukuna Eirlys Richards (translator), 2004 selected work autobiography biography ; Very Big Journey : My Life as I Remember It 2004 single work autobiography ; Shadow Lines 2003 single work biography ; Mongrel Signatures : Reflections on the Work of Mudrooroo 2003 anthology criticism ; The Station at Austin Downs : One Family's Adventure on the Land 2004 single work autobiography ; Down to the Sea : A True Saga of an Australian Fishing Dynasty 2004 single work biography ; Tanami : On Foot Across Australia's Desert Heart 2003 single work autobiography ; Great Australian Droving Stories 2003 selected work short story ; Great Australian Drinking Stories 2003 anthology short story prose ; James Stirling : Admiral and Founding Governor of Western Australia 2003 single work biography ; About Face : Asian Accounts of Australia 2003 single work criticism ; Chinese Women and the Global Village : An Australian Site 2003 single work prose ; Semar's Cave : An Indonesian Journal 2004 single work prose ; Life and Death in the Age of Sail : The Passage to Australia 2003 single work non-fiction ; The Girl from Botany Bay : The True Story of Mary Broad and Her Extraordinary Escape 2004 single work biography ; Legacies of White Australia : Race, Culture and Nation 2003 anthology essay ; The Best Australian Essays 2003 2003 anthology essay autobiography interview prose review obituary ; Death Sentence : The Decay of Public Language 2003 single work prose ; Great Australian Fishing Stories 2003 selected work short story
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cFormer Czechoslovakia,cEastern Europe, Europe,
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Siberia,
cRussia,ccFormer Soviet Union,cEastern Europe, Europe,