Heda Margolius Kovály
"Heda Kovályová byla opravdu jedna z nejlepších překladatelek z angličtiny, které v Čechách od sklonku padesátých do počátku sedmdesátých let praktikovaly. Překládala chytře, svěže, nápaditě, mělo to plynulý tah prózy, vlastní šťávu." Jan Zábrana, Celý život - Výbor z deníků 1948/1984, Torst, Praha 2001.
"Heda Kovályová was truly one of the best English translators who worked in Czechoslovakia from the late 1950s to the early 1970s. Her translations were clever, fresh, inspired, they had a smooth flow of prose, their own essence." Jan Zábrana, Celý život - Výbor z deníků 1948/1984, Torst, Praha 2001.
"Heda was one of the great women of the 20th century.", Professor Marci Shore, Yale University.
Books, Articles, Translations, Interviews, Graphic Design, Awards
History, Memoirs, Literature
All images : copyright 2025 Margolius Family Archive
Books
Heda Margolius Kovály, Under a Cruel Star بخت بیدادگر (Bakht-i bīdādgar; Dāstān-i yak zindagī) ISBN 978-964-209-360-1 published in Persian by Mahi, translated by Razieh Khoshnud, 2021.
Also available in Czech, English, French, Chinese, Spanish, Italian, Danish, Romanian, German, Dutch, Norwegian, Japanese.
Also available in Czech, English, French, Chinese, Spanish, Italian, Danish, Romanian, German, Dutch, Norwegian, Japanese.
Hitler, Stalin and I: An Oral History by Heda Margolius Kovály and Helena Třeštíková, translated by Ivan Margolius,
DoppelHouse Press, Los Angeles, 2018, 160 pages, hardback ISBN 978-0-9987770-0-9, paperback ISBN 978-0-9978184-7-5.
The book is recommended for students of European history.
"The material speaks so well to students: it's so expressive without being polemical, so very human. I've never found anything else that gives students such a vivid sense of that interaction of the experiences of Nazism and Stalinism in such a small number of pages. These young people are captivated by Heda; I see them falling in love with her a bit." Marci Shore, Professor of History, Yale University, February 2020.
"It is a compelling read, appalling and inspiring, tragic and hopeful. Heda's voice comes through incredibly strongly and my admiration for her clear headed courage and determination is very deep. Full marks to the interviewer for her part in getting Heda's testimony on the record. The words and tone of voice do not strike a false note. The translation reads simply and without affect. I cannot begin to imagine what reading and re-reading about Rudolf's murder must have been like. What degrading times they were ... I am very pleased - if that is the word - to have read it." Sir John Tusa, September 2018.
Heda Margolius Kovály's Exceptional Life Navigating a Century of Horrors. The Nomadic Journal interview, August 2018.
"Heda Margolius Kovály, in her oral history, gives a panoramic view of life-long survival in the face of despair and violence, while retaining optimism and faith in the better angels of human nature." Frank Shatz, The Virginia Gazette, 29 November, 2017.
"EVERYONE should read this book ... You will feel the complete spectrum of emotions available to you, in this factual, hard-hitting interview of one of the few holocaust survivors. The writing is excellent, well-paced and sincere. There are black and white photos included that sometimes say more than any words could possibly attempt to. I highly recommend this book ...." mybookabyss.com
"Kovály's story is engrossing, immediate and real. Kovály speaks from within, from her soul and pulls us into her life. I actually read the book in one sitting because I did not feel I could or wanted to stop. Prepare yourselves for an emotional read." Amos Lassen
“It is hard to imagine a reader who would not be inspired by the momentous life of Heda Margolius depicted in Hitler, Stalin and I. [The book] is at once a harrowing journey, a kaleidoscope of images and sounds. If a reader truly hears the haunting words as if they are spoken one can begin to understand that this life and death human drama is not just about one survivor but a meaningful observation of an even more significant story about the bloody outcomes of extremism." Laura Schultz, New York Journal of Books
"This book [is] fascinating, as it recounts a single person’s struggle to survive among millions. Oral interviews can be a gold mine for historians, and this is no exception. It provides individual experiences that get lost in the grand narratives, and it values the stories that people tell about how they lived through momentous events in their lifetimes. While the book is slim, with a lot of pictures, you will be enthralled that one person could live through so much." Kevin Winter, Tulsa Book Review
"Heda's torturous path through some of the 20th century's greatest calamities is rendered with deep wisdom and a poetic eye for detail. Her misfortunes, and her perseverance through them, make Hitler, Stalin and I both an important historical account and a testament to human endurance." Tobias Mutter, Shelf-Awareness.com, 13 March, 2018.
"The book tells the story a very brave and intelligent woman, surviving without compromising her principles." thosgpetri, 5-star review, LibraryThing.com
"The book completes the story of an amazing, courageous woman who overcame tragedies that few could survive. I recommend this unforgettable book as highly as is possible." Charles Ota Heller, 5-star review, Amazon.com.
"It's a lovely memoir of a woman who had to live in a world horribly less lovely. She seems to have been quietly feisty and not openly bitter ... It was a beautiful book. I came to thought (rare that I do) in many parts of it. 'Lovely' kept coming to mind as I read it. No matter the horrors. I hope she was as lovely a mum as the words read." Reader's comments
"An amazing personal record of events in Prague during and post World War Two, told in a way that makes compelling reading."
"Very moving memoir written by a deeply resilient survivor. May we all learn from such stories. Never again!"
"The book tells the story a very brave and intelligent woman, surviving without compromising her principles." Amazon readers comments
DoppelHouse Press, Los Angeles, 2018, 160 pages, hardback ISBN 978-0-9987770-0-9, paperback ISBN 978-0-9978184-7-5.
The book is recommended for students of European history.
"The material speaks so well to students: it's so expressive without being polemical, so very human. I've never found anything else that gives students such a vivid sense of that interaction of the experiences of Nazism and Stalinism in such a small number of pages. These young people are captivated by Heda; I see them falling in love with her a bit." Marci Shore, Professor of History, Yale University, February 2020.
"It is a compelling read, appalling and inspiring, tragic and hopeful. Heda's voice comes through incredibly strongly and my admiration for her clear headed courage and determination is very deep. Full marks to the interviewer for her part in getting Heda's testimony on the record. The words and tone of voice do not strike a false note. The translation reads simply and without affect. I cannot begin to imagine what reading and re-reading about Rudolf's murder must have been like. What degrading times they were ... I am very pleased - if that is the word - to have read it." Sir John Tusa, September 2018.
Heda Margolius Kovály's Exceptional Life Navigating a Century of Horrors. The Nomadic Journal interview, August 2018.
"Heda Margolius Kovály, in her oral history, gives a panoramic view of life-long survival in the face of despair and violence, while retaining optimism and faith in the better angels of human nature." Frank Shatz, The Virginia Gazette, 29 November, 2017.
"EVERYONE should read this book ... You will feel the complete spectrum of emotions available to you, in this factual, hard-hitting interview of one of the few holocaust survivors. The writing is excellent, well-paced and sincere. There are black and white photos included that sometimes say more than any words could possibly attempt to. I highly recommend this book ...." mybookabyss.com
"Kovály's story is engrossing, immediate and real. Kovály speaks from within, from her soul and pulls us into her life. I actually read the book in one sitting because I did not feel I could or wanted to stop. Prepare yourselves for an emotional read." Amos Lassen
“It is hard to imagine a reader who would not be inspired by the momentous life of Heda Margolius depicted in Hitler, Stalin and I. [The book] is at once a harrowing journey, a kaleidoscope of images and sounds. If a reader truly hears the haunting words as if they are spoken one can begin to understand that this life and death human drama is not just about one survivor but a meaningful observation of an even more significant story about the bloody outcomes of extremism." Laura Schultz, New York Journal of Books
"This book [is] fascinating, as it recounts a single person’s struggle to survive among millions. Oral interviews can be a gold mine for historians, and this is no exception. It provides individual experiences that get lost in the grand narratives, and it values the stories that people tell about how they lived through momentous events in their lifetimes. While the book is slim, with a lot of pictures, you will be enthralled that one person could live through so much." Kevin Winter, Tulsa Book Review
"Heda's torturous path through some of the 20th century's greatest calamities is rendered with deep wisdom and a poetic eye for detail. Her misfortunes, and her perseverance through them, make Hitler, Stalin and I both an important historical account and a testament to human endurance." Tobias Mutter, Shelf-Awareness.com, 13 March, 2018.
"The book tells the story a very brave and intelligent woman, surviving without compromising her principles." thosgpetri, 5-star review, LibraryThing.com
"The book completes the story of an amazing, courageous woman who overcame tragedies that few could survive. I recommend this unforgettable book as highly as is possible." Charles Ota Heller, 5-star review, Amazon.com.
"It's a lovely memoir of a woman who had to live in a world horribly less lovely. She seems to have been quietly feisty and not openly bitter ... It was a beautiful book. I came to thought (rare that I do) in many parts of it. 'Lovely' kept coming to mind as I read it. No matter the horrors. I hope she was as lovely a mum as the words read." Reader's comments
"An amazing personal record of events in Prague during and post World War Two, told in a way that makes compelling reading."
"Very moving memoir written by a deeply resilient survivor. May we all learn from such stories. Never again!"
"The book tells the story a very brave and intelligent woman, surviving without compromising her principles." Amazon readers comments
Sotto una stella crudele: Una vita a Praga – 1941-1968, Traduzione di Silvia Pareschi, Adelphi Edizioni, Milano, 2017, 214 pages, ISBN 978-88-459-3164-2.
Si può scampare alle persecuzioni dei due grandi regimi totalitari del Novecento e poi scrivere un libro di memorie come questo: sobrio, indomito, luminoso. Heda Bloch è fuggita dalla marcia della morte verso Bergen-Belsen, ma Praga la riaccoglie con ostilità: troppo forte, per i suoi amici, è il terrore delle rappresaglie naziste. Dopo la liberazione e la «rinascita comunista», nel 1952 il marito, Rudolf Margolius, alto funzionario governativo – un «mercenario al servizio degli imperialisti» –, verrà condannato all’impiccagione nel clima plumbeo e maligno del processo contro il segretario generale Slánský. Inizia il periodo del «silenzio attonito, terrorizzato»; solo le seconde nozze con Pavel Kovály salveranno Heda e il figlio Ivan da una lunga, tragica vita da reietti. E quando sta per giungere il lieto fine, quando dopo la Primavera di Dubček tutta la popolazione di «una città che non riusciva a dormire per la gioia» si riversa festosa in strada, ecco l’estremo orrore: l’arrivo dei carri armati sovietici.
Una lettura consigliata a quelli che pensano che la "Democrazia" sia una delle opzioni possibili, o che vivendo in un sistema democratico danno tutto per scontato e naturale. Consigliata anche a quelli che con disinvoltura alzano il braccio con la mano ben tesa o che stringono il pugno. Infine anche a quelli che che appartenendo alla Civilta' occidentale non sentono un senso di colpa e vergogna collettiva per aver perseguitato, assassinato la popolazione ebraica per tanti secoli. Tra l'altro, nelle alte sfere, il motivo di questa persecuzione non era tanto ideologica, ma di
-rapina-, quindi doppiamente dobbiamo vergognarci!! Impariamo la storia anche da queste testimonianze e non solo dalle versioni ufficiali, ci fara' diventare piu' "Umani"!!! E pensiamo anche al valore dell' "Europa Unita"!!! Reader's comment, amazon.it
"Questo libro è uno scritto importante, lucido e aperto alla comprensione di tutti. Capire e conoscere per meditare e riflettere su ciò che è stato, comprendere molto di ciò che è. Una vita narrata con lucidità e semplicità, molto toccante in svariati punti dove le riflessioni intime ed elaborate toccano le corte della sensibilità più profonda. I passaggi storici cardine, utili a capire in che modo la vita di Heda sia stata segnata, danno una visione molto più ampia sul popolo di Praga e della Cecoslovacchia. L'abbraccio al regime, le conseguenze e le distorsioni di un sistema malato riflesso sugli abitanti, sono parte di un racconto che tutti dovrebbero conoscere, la forza di una donna, la resistenza silenziosa, il dolore e un futuro che riemerge, come la fenice, dalle ceneri. Ho apprezzato ogni singola pagina di questo libro, la semplicità di narrazione, la visione ampia su tutti gli strati storici di una società e di un regime, la drammaticità della prigionia e della malattia. Commovente, drammatico ma con una forza e una speranza che non cedono mai il passo alla rassegnazione. Un messaggio importante e una storia che entra nel cuore." Libriamoci
"La storia dello spirito indomito di una donna straordinaria, sopravvissuta due volte - all'Olocausto e alla dittatura comunista in Cecoslovacchia - sembrerebbe fiorire da una vivida fantasia, tanto appare inverosimile ... Sono pagine toccanti, sempre più dense di particolari e soprattutto sincere quelle di Heda Margolius che entra insieme al figlio Ivan nel periodo del «silenzio attonito, terrorizzato»." Bresciaoggi, 24/04/21017.
"It is one of those cases in which the events and episodes of an individual and private existence become one with the universal and collective facts and events of history, which overwhelm the former as a tragic and ineluctable destiny of injustice, of pain and death that is impossible to fight.. What the author offers the reader with this precious autobiographical account ... is a cross-section of Europe between the Second World War and the Cold War and at the same time is an acute and profound reflection on totalitarianism, on its structural constants and above all on its consequences, which affect individual and collective, private and social existences and which are manifested in the suppression of freedom, in the distortion of truth and in the violation of dignity and of human life." Armando Lancellotti, Carmilla, 27/07/2017.
"A woman, her man, her child are the protagonists of the writing that if it were a novel it would seem excessive, beyond any imagination. What happens to that family is instead the true portrait of the offended world, the History without superstructures and deception, where even the particular minute mirrors the absolute." Corriere Della Sera, 30/07/ 2017.
Reviews appeared in: Pagina 99, Bresciaoggi, L'Espresso, ItaliaOggi, La Republica, Il Piacere Bella Lettura.
Si può scampare alle persecuzioni dei due grandi regimi totalitari del Novecento e poi scrivere un libro di memorie come questo: sobrio, indomito, luminoso. Heda Bloch è fuggita dalla marcia della morte verso Bergen-Belsen, ma Praga la riaccoglie con ostilità: troppo forte, per i suoi amici, è il terrore delle rappresaglie naziste. Dopo la liberazione e la «rinascita comunista», nel 1952 il marito, Rudolf Margolius, alto funzionario governativo – un «mercenario al servizio degli imperialisti» –, verrà condannato all’impiccagione nel clima plumbeo e maligno del processo contro il segretario generale Slánský. Inizia il periodo del «silenzio attonito, terrorizzato»; solo le seconde nozze con Pavel Kovály salveranno Heda e il figlio Ivan da una lunga, tragica vita da reietti. E quando sta per giungere il lieto fine, quando dopo la Primavera di Dubček tutta la popolazione di «una città che non riusciva a dormire per la gioia» si riversa festosa in strada, ecco l’estremo orrore: l’arrivo dei carri armati sovietici.
Una lettura consigliata a quelli che pensano che la "Democrazia" sia una delle opzioni possibili, o che vivendo in un sistema democratico danno tutto per scontato e naturale. Consigliata anche a quelli che con disinvoltura alzano il braccio con la mano ben tesa o che stringono il pugno. Infine anche a quelli che che appartenendo alla Civilta' occidentale non sentono un senso di colpa e vergogna collettiva per aver perseguitato, assassinato la popolazione ebraica per tanti secoli. Tra l'altro, nelle alte sfere, il motivo di questa persecuzione non era tanto ideologica, ma di
-rapina-, quindi doppiamente dobbiamo vergognarci!! Impariamo la storia anche da queste testimonianze e non solo dalle versioni ufficiali, ci fara' diventare piu' "Umani"!!! E pensiamo anche al valore dell' "Europa Unita"!!! Reader's comment, amazon.it
"Questo libro è uno scritto importante, lucido e aperto alla comprensione di tutti. Capire e conoscere per meditare e riflettere su ciò che è stato, comprendere molto di ciò che è. Una vita narrata con lucidità e semplicità, molto toccante in svariati punti dove le riflessioni intime ed elaborate toccano le corte della sensibilità più profonda. I passaggi storici cardine, utili a capire in che modo la vita di Heda sia stata segnata, danno una visione molto più ampia sul popolo di Praga e della Cecoslovacchia. L'abbraccio al regime, le conseguenze e le distorsioni di un sistema malato riflesso sugli abitanti, sono parte di un racconto che tutti dovrebbero conoscere, la forza di una donna, la resistenza silenziosa, il dolore e un futuro che riemerge, come la fenice, dalle ceneri. Ho apprezzato ogni singola pagina di questo libro, la semplicità di narrazione, la visione ampia su tutti gli strati storici di una società e di un regime, la drammaticità della prigionia e della malattia. Commovente, drammatico ma con una forza e una speranza che non cedono mai il passo alla rassegnazione. Un messaggio importante e una storia che entra nel cuore." Libriamoci
"La storia dello spirito indomito di una donna straordinaria, sopravvissuta due volte - all'Olocausto e alla dittatura comunista in Cecoslovacchia - sembrerebbe fiorire da una vivida fantasia, tanto appare inverosimile ... Sono pagine toccanti, sempre più dense di particolari e soprattutto sincere quelle di Heda Margolius che entra insieme al figlio Ivan nel periodo del «silenzio attonito, terrorizzato»." Bresciaoggi, 24/04/21017.
"It is one of those cases in which the events and episodes of an individual and private existence become one with the universal and collective facts and events of history, which overwhelm the former as a tragic and ineluctable destiny of injustice, of pain and death that is impossible to fight.. What the author offers the reader with this precious autobiographical account ... is a cross-section of Europe between the Second World War and the Cold War and at the same time is an acute and profound reflection on totalitarianism, on its structural constants and above all on its consequences, which affect individual and collective, private and social existences and which are manifested in the suppression of freedom, in the distortion of truth and in the violation of dignity and of human life." Armando Lancellotti, Carmilla, 27/07/2017.
"A woman, her man, her child are the protagonists of the writing that if it were a novel it would seem excessive, beyond any imagination. What happens to that family is instead the true portrait of the offended world, the History without superstructures and deception, where even the particular minute mirrors the absolute." Corriere Della Sera, 30/07/ 2017.
Reviews appeared in: Pagina 99, Bresciaoggi, L'Espresso, ItaliaOggi, La Republica, Il Piacere Bella Lettura.
Sub o stea crudă: O viaţă în Praga, 1941-1968, Meteor Press, Bucuresti, 2015, 192 pages, ISBN 978-606-8653-57-0.
Privirea scrutătoare pe care Heda Margolius Kovály o îndreaptă asupra vieţilor dominate de soarta tragică a Cehoslovaciei în timpul ocupaţiei naziste, apoi în perioada stalinistă aruncă lumină asupra existenţei haotice a unei naţiuni. Kovály a fost deportată într-un lagăr de concentrare, a scăpat dintr-un marş al morţii, a făcut foamea în anii postbelici şi a fost ulterior devastată de condamnarea soţului ei (infamul proces Slansky din 1952) şi de executarea acestuia. Amintirile sale pline de lirism emană cu toate acestea optimism chiar şi în mijlocul celor mai mari orori.
Privirea scrutătoare pe care Heda Margolius Kovály o îndreaptă asupra vieţilor dominate de soarta tragică a Cehoslovaciei în timpul ocupaţiei naziste, apoi în perioada stalinistă aruncă lumină asupra existenţei haotice a unei naţiuni. Kovály a fost deportată într-un lagăr de concentrare, a scăpat dintr-un marş al morţii, a făcut foamea în anii postbelici şi a fost ulterior devastată de condamnarea soţului ei (infamul proces Slansky din 1952) şi de executarea acestuia. Amintirile sale pline de lirism emană cu toate acestea optimism chiar şi în mijlocul celor mai mari orori.
Innocence; or, Murder on Steep Street, translated by Alex Zucker, Soho Press / Soho Crime, New York, 2015, 256 pages, hardback ISBN 978-1-61695-496-3, paperback ISBN 978-1-61695-645-5. recorded book C03805 ISBN 978-1-4906-8072-9
Recommended by Nora Dolliver, New York Public Library Librarian, in 'Finding E-Books from Independent Publishers of Literary Translation', 12 May, 2020.
"Although it is crime fiction and designed to be fine reading there is a deeper philosophical point which is that there is no innocence ... To participate in the resistance is to take on the guilt of retaliation and to not participate is to take on the guilt of passivity.” Marci Shore, Radio Praha, March 2019.
Alex Zucker's translation of Heda Margolius Kovály's Innocence; or Murder on Steep Street, Soho Press, New York 2015, included in The 100 Best Books by Women Writers in Translation, August 2019 as number 21.
Book Riot 2019
Interview with Alex Zucker
An NPR Best Book in 2015
Included in the NPR's Best Books of 2015 'Historical Fiction, Mysteries & Thrillers, Tales From Around the World'
"Innocence is a sharp, moving indictment of Soviet-style communism, and of any ideology that relies on fear to subdue." Star Tribune
"A luminous testament from a dark time, Innocence is at once a clever hommage to Raymond Chandler, and a portrait of a city – Prague – caught and held fast in a state of Kafkaesque paranoia. Only a great survivor could have written such a book." John Banville
"Double lives, secrets, informers, microdots, and above all, lies . . . Set in post-war Prague, a repressive political maze, Innocence is a must-read, a psychological drama played out in crystal prose. Not only did Heda Margolius Kovály write an emotionally wrenching tale, she lived it during the 1950s Communist state." Cara Black
"Dead-cinch thriller ... A book to get your heart pounding ... deadly accurate in its aim to entertain ... The great draw of Innocence; or, Murder on Steep Street is the menacing view it gives us of Communist Prague. Helena, for instance, describes being hustled into a small interrogation room and having 'pairs [of men's eyes] stick to [her] face like frog's legs.' Kovály channels Chandler but takes him into a landscape far, far away from wide-open L.A." Maureen Corrigan, Fresh Air, NPR WNYC, 6 July, 2015.
"With this character-driven, philosophical mystery, Kovály has taken her experience and combined it with the vocabulary of classic crime fiction to create something that is engagingly familiar, yet all her own." Rain Taxi
"Innocence is an extraordinary novel ... in 1985, Kovály produced a remarkable work of art with the intrigue of a spy puzzle, the irony of a political fable, the shrewdness of a novel of manners, and the toughness of a hard-boiled murder mystery ... Just as few will anticipate the many surprises and artful turns of Innocence, a book sure to dazzle and please a great many readers." Tom Nolan, The Best New Mysteries, The Wall Street Journal
"Kovály's skills as a mystery writer shines, as she uses suspense, hints, and suggestions to literally play with the reader's mind ... Innocence is an excellent novel for readers who are up for a challenging, intelligent, and complex story – one that paints a masterful picture of a bleak, Kafkaesque, and highly intriguing time, place, and cast of characters." New York Journal of Books, 2 June, 2015.
"A wonderfully atmospheric crime novel of 1950s Prague." David Vaughan, rozhlas.cz
"Like her Auschwitz memoir, this book cries out for a wider audience... Hard life inspires fast fiction ... Innocence wrought from years of bitter struggle with some nastiest elements of human nature – deceit, corruption, betrayal – it emerges as an underrated, subtle masterpiece ... Innocence is astonishingly – and brilliantly – written as a thriller in the style of Raymond Chandler, an author Kovály hugely admired. The mean streets her characters tread are infinitely more treacherous than the dark blocks of Los Angeles but she creates a plot packed with surprise, a character-driven, murderous matrix that sustains an amoral universe in an all-too-convincing story. As Clive James said of Under a Cruel Star, in his book Cultural Amnesia, Innocence deserves to be a lot more famous than it is." Anne Garvey, The Jewish Chronicle
"Although not out of love for Hegel, Heda Margolius Kovály makes a very Hegelian point: actions, as Hegel tells us in the section on Antigone in Phenomenology of Spirit – even seemingly small, meaningless actions – always reach beyond their intent; and the impossibility of foreseeing how the consequences will ripple outwards does not absolve us of guilt. As for innocence, the woman who went to hell twice wants her readers to know that there is no such thing." Marci Shore, The Times Literary Supplement, 29 July, 2015.
"In noirish tones, [Innocence] depicts the dark streets, the lost souls, and a very difficult time to be judged guilty or innocent by one’s supposed friends or by the oppressive and rising Czechoslovakian Communist regime." Booklist
"Previously unpublished in English, this mystery by the late Czech translator and author of the memoir Under a Cruel Star vividly depicts Communist-oppressed 1950s Prague... That Kovály's first husband was unjustly executed by the Czechoslovak Communist Party in 1952 gives her narrative of double lives and betrayal a painful veracity." Publishers Weekly
"There is a great deal over which to marvel in Innocence: Or, Murder on Steep Street. The narrative is riveting. The art of its telling is powerful. And the back story to its publication is itself worthy of recounting: a testament to the author’s steely will to hallow memory and, in so doing, bring a semblance of balance to history’s often skewed scales of justice ... Imagine the works by Koestler or Solzhenitsyn about life in a police state. Imagine, too, the narrow, social and cultural strictures in the world depicted by Kafka. As skilfully as they, Kovály depicts the desperate emptiness, the deep, crushing lack of purpose and pervasive fear of everyday life under totalitarian conditions ... Innocence is a psychological thriller. Since conversation with others is fraught with risk, only conversation with one’s self is safe. Hence, Kovály brings the readers into the private chambers of her characters’ thoughts and pitiful, despairing lives. And she does so masterfully. She writes mournfully of the desolation of the characters’ lives, but not in over-wrought prose. The language is sculpted by the harsh self-awareness of the extent to which other people control one’s life ...’Kovály's book is an important and rewarding read. " The Canadian Jewish News
"Capturing the fear and oppression of living in a police state, this dark novel, reflective of its time and written by a writer who lived her material, will enthral noir enthusiasts and readers of literary historical fiction." Library Journal
"Innocence is a remarkable story that combines cultural and political observations with crime fiction. It is a testimony to the most brutal times of the 20th century." Frank Shatz, Lake Placid News
"The novel’s best aspect is its portrayal of time and place. Fear fills Prague and its residents’ hearts in the 1950s; no one can trust anyone. With many scenes occurring at nighttime, a sense of darkness spreads as the story unfolds." San Antonio Express-News
"Innocence is an intriguing reimagining of crime genre in the context of Prague of the 1950s ... In the trivialising of evil lies the link between Kovály’s Holocaust memoir and Innocence, as well as the dark undertone that makes her crime novel so distinctive and powerful." International Noir Fiction
"Kovály's novel is rich with fear and paranoia ... In many ways, the characters isolate themselves from one another on the basis that either they have reservations about the honesty of the other person - or they themselves are dishonest, keeping their secrets stitched snugly to their breast. In turn, readers get a truer sense of the political tyranny of the decade, the stresses and challenges real people faced, and the consequences of such a volatile environment both on the individual and the community as a whole. INNOCENCE is an excellent read that I highly recommend." Fresh Fiction
"Kovály’s novel of double-crosses and double lives is made all the more authentic by the fact that her first husband was executed by the Communist party in 1952." The Strand Magazine
"Though it is a fabulous mystery story just on its own merits, knowing that in a way you are reading an almost biographical account of life in the Czech Republic during the post war era, makes this novel seem that much more chilling. This mystery recreates for the reader the stifling atmosphere of political and personal oppression of the early days of Communist Czechoslovakia." Bite of the Bookworm
"I enjoyed the author’s characterisations and her ability to convey the fear and distrust Czechoslovakians felt during the totalitarian, repressive Stalinist era." Library Journal Reviews
"The mystery was solid and the intrigue was well played out. I’m glad this intense and powerful novel has finally been brought to light." Crimespree Magazine
"Best new mystery." Toronto Star, 27 June, 2015.
"A very entertaining literary experience." Night Owl Suspense
"... A compelling sequence of memorable scenes and taut suspense. No car chases, no gunfights, but the grit and betrayal of espionage are here, along with its pained consequences." Beth Kanell, Kingdom Books, Mysteries - Classic to Cutting Edge
"A perfect feminist noir ... This rediscovered masterpiece captures a chilling moment in the stifling early days of Communist Czechoslovakia ... Margolius Kovály’s vision of 1950s Prague is marked not only by terror, but by shame and humiliation as well. Her heroine must be both fearless and shameless to get even close to achieving her goals, but this is a Soviet noir, so don’t count on a happy ending. Do, however, count on beautiful, intricate, and bleak noir from a master of the genre." MysteryPeople, BookPeople, Austin.
"A beautiful book -- maybe not so much a great mystery novel, but once you're into it you start to realize that the crime component truly is not the important story here. Even if it turned out to be something I wasn't really expecting, I loved this book." The Crime Segments
"This is a brief but powerful novel about everyday people trying to navigate and negotiate, through honest and dishonest means, the tyranny of a communist regime that wants to destroy people who appear not to conform. I came away feeling sad after reading the novel but very much aware of how the people of that time and place had to act in order to survive." Historical Novel Society
"A dark brooding and haunting novel of life in Communist Prague." Military History Book Reviews
"Innocence is haunting and extraordinary." Kittling Books
"An intensely interesting novel." Reviewing the Evidence
"This "new" work from the Soho Crime Club (first published in Czech in 1985, translated and published in English by Soho Crime, 2015) is both a personal story and an homage to genre." Crime Pays
"It is with great pride that Soho brings to life this remarkable story, which deftly combines the cultural and political observations of crime fiction with the more emotionally powerful biographical elements of an author that lived through the 20th century's most brutal times and survived to tell the tale with great humor, wit, and in the case of Innocence, cunning." Broadway World Books
"Innocence, or Murder on Streep Street is clever and satisfying ... At the heart [of the book] is an expose of an inhuman and corrupt society but more than that, a hard and depressing lesson that true innocence in such is unsustainable." Lizzy's Literary Life August 2016
Translating Fact into Fiction, Alex Zucker on translating Innocence
“There is a relatively unknown novel by Heda Margolius Kovály, the widow of Rudolf Margolius, who was executed in the Slánský trial. She was known best for her memoir, Under a Cruel Star, which is an extraordinary memoir. But she also wrote this work of crime fiction. It is set in a movie theatre in 1952. It was just published in English a couple of years ago, posthumously, and it is called Innocence. Although it is crime fiction and designed to be fine reading there is a deeper philosophical point which is that there is no innocence.” "So in other words you are saying that experience left no one with clean hands?" “Exactly. Either way you are guilty. To participate in the resistance is to take on the guilt of retaliation and to not participate is to take on the guilt of passivity.” Interview with Professor Marci Shore, Radio Praha, 23 March, 2019
"This novel is a brilliant example of something very challenging that engages each and every brain cells of the readers to contemplate in their own way and also of something which is thoroughly insightful enough to show the readers a dark picture of the reality as well as of the human souls.
Verdict: In one word, a must read, only if you can handle complexities and multi layers in a plot." Amazon.com
"Outstanding, riveting and wonderful!!!" Amazon.com
Recommended by Nora Dolliver, New York Public Library Librarian, in 'Finding E-Books from Independent Publishers of Literary Translation', 12 May, 2020.
"Although it is crime fiction and designed to be fine reading there is a deeper philosophical point which is that there is no innocence ... To participate in the resistance is to take on the guilt of retaliation and to not participate is to take on the guilt of passivity.” Marci Shore, Radio Praha, March 2019.
Alex Zucker's translation of Heda Margolius Kovály's Innocence; or Murder on Steep Street, Soho Press, New York 2015, included in The 100 Best Books by Women Writers in Translation, August 2019 as number 21.
Book Riot 2019
Interview with Alex Zucker
An NPR Best Book in 2015
Included in the NPR's Best Books of 2015 'Historical Fiction, Mysteries & Thrillers, Tales From Around the World'
"Innocence is a sharp, moving indictment of Soviet-style communism, and of any ideology that relies on fear to subdue." Star Tribune
"A luminous testament from a dark time, Innocence is at once a clever hommage to Raymond Chandler, and a portrait of a city – Prague – caught and held fast in a state of Kafkaesque paranoia. Only a great survivor could have written such a book." John Banville
"Double lives, secrets, informers, microdots, and above all, lies . . . Set in post-war Prague, a repressive political maze, Innocence is a must-read, a psychological drama played out in crystal prose. Not only did Heda Margolius Kovály write an emotionally wrenching tale, she lived it during the 1950s Communist state." Cara Black
"Dead-cinch thriller ... A book to get your heart pounding ... deadly accurate in its aim to entertain ... The great draw of Innocence; or, Murder on Steep Street is the menacing view it gives us of Communist Prague. Helena, for instance, describes being hustled into a small interrogation room and having 'pairs [of men's eyes] stick to [her] face like frog's legs.' Kovály channels Chandler but takes him into a landscape far, far away from wide-open L.A." Maureen Corrigan, Fresh Air, NPR WNYC, 6 July, 2015.
"With this character-driven, philosophical mystery, Kovály has taken her experience and combined it with the vocabulary of classic crime fiction to create something that is engagingly familiar, yet all her own." Rain Taxi
"Innocence is an extraordinary novel ... in 1985, Kovály produced a remarkable work of art with the intrigue of a spy puzzle, the irony of a political fable, the shrewdness of a novel of manners, and the toughness of a hard-boiled murder mystery ... Just as few will anticipate the many surprises and artful turns of Innocence, a book sure to dazzle and please a great many readers." Tom Nolan, The Best New Mysteries, The Wall Street Journal
"Kovály's skills as a mystery writer shines, as she uses suspense, hints, and suggestions to literally play with the reader's mind ... Innocence is an excellent novel for readers who are up for a challenging, intelligent, and complex story – one that paints a masterful picture of a bleak, Kafkaesque, and highly intriguing time, place, and cast of characters." New York Journal of Books, 2 June, 2015.
"A wonderfully atmospheric crime novel of 1950s Prague." David Vaughan, rozhlas.cz
"Like her Auschwitz memoir, this book cries out for a wider audience... Hard life inspires fast fiction ... Innocence wrought from years of bitter struggle with some nastiest elements of human nature – deceit, corruption, betrayal – it emerges as an underrated, subtle masterpiece ... Innocence is astonishingly – and brilliantly – written as a thriller in the style of Raymond Chandler, an author Kovály hugely admired. The mean streets her characters tread are infinitely more treacherous than the dark blocks of Los Angeles but she creates a plot packed with surprise, a character-driven, murderous matrix that sustains an amoral universe in an all-too-convincing story. As Clive James said of Under a Cruel Star, in his book Cultural Amnesia, Innocence deserves to be a lot more famous than it is." Anne Garvey, The Jewish Chronicle
"Although not out of love for Hegel, Heda Margolius Kovály makes a very Hegelian point: actions, as Hegel tells us in the section on Antigone in Phenomenology of Spirit – even seemingly small, meaningless actions – always reach beyond their intent; and the impossibility of foreseeing how the consequences will ripple outwards does not absolve us of guilt. As for innocence, the woman who went to hell twice wants her readers to know that there is no such thing." Marci Shore, The Times Literary Supplement, 29 July, 2015.
"In noirish tones, [Innocence] depicts the dark streets, the lost souls, and a very difficult time to be judged guilty or innocent by one’s supposed friends or by the oppressive and rising Czechoslovakian Communist regime." Booklist
"Previously unpublished in English, this mystery by the late Czech translator and author of the memoir Under a Cruel Star vividly depicts Communist-oppressed 1950s Prague... That Kovály's first husband was unjustly executed by the Czechoslovak Communist Party in 1952 gives her narrative of double lives and betrayal a painful veracity." Publishers Weekly
"There is a great deal over which to marvel in Innocence: Or, Murder on Steep Street. The narrative is riveting. The art of its telling is powerful. And the back story to its publication is itself worthy of recounting: a testament to the author’s steely will to hallow memory and, in so doing, bring a semblance of balance to history’s often skewed scales of justice ... Imagine the works by Koestler or Solzhenitsyn about life in a police state. Imagine, too, the narrow, social and cultural strictures in the world depicted by Kafka. As skilfully as they, Kovály depicts the desperate emptiness, the deep, crushing lack of purpose and pervasive fear of everyday life under totalitarian conditions ... Innocence is a psychological thriller. Since conversation with others is fraught with risk, only conversation with one’s self is safe. Hence, Kovály brings the readers into the private chambers of her characters’ thoughts and pitiful, despairing lives. And she does so masterfully. She writes mournfully of the desolation of the characters’ lives, but not in over-wrought prose. The language is sculpted by the harsh self-awareness of the extent to which other people control one’s life ...’Kovály's book is an important and rewarding read. " The Canadian Jewish News
"Capturing the fear and oppression of living in a police state, this dark novel, reflective of its time and written by a writer who lived her material, will enthral noir enthusiasts and readers of literary historical fiction." Library Journal
"Innocence is a remarkable story that combines cultural and political observations with crime fiction. It is a testimony to the most brutal times of the 20th century." Frank Shatz, Lake Placid News
"The novel’s best aspect is its portrayal of time and place. Fear fills Prague and its residents’ hearts in the 1950s; no one can trust anyone. With many scenes occurring at nighttime, a sense of darkness spreads as the story unfolds." San Antonio Express-News
"Innocence is an intriguing reimagining of crime genre in the context of Prague of the 1950s ... In the trivialising of evil lies the link between Kovály’s Holocaust memoir and Innocence, as well as the dark undertone that makes her crime novel so distinctive and powerful." International Noir Fiction
"Kovály's novel is rich with fear and paranoia ... In many ways, the characters isolate themselves from one another on the basis that either they have reservations about the honesty of the other person - or they themselves are dishonest, keeping their secrets stitched snugly to their breast. In turn, readers get a truer sense of the political tyranny of the decade, the stresses and challenges real people faced, and the consequences of such a volatile environment both on the individual and the community as a whole. INNOCENCE is an excellent read that I highly recommend." Fresh Fiction
"Kovály’s novel of double-crosses and double lives is made all the more authentic by the fact that her first husband was executed by the Communist party in 1952." The Strand Magazine
"Though it is a fabulous mystery story just on its own merits, knowing that in a way you are reading an almost biographical account of life in the Czech Republic during the post war era, makes this novel seem that much more chilling. This mystery recreates for the reader the stifling atmosphere of political and personal oppression of the early days of Communist Czechoslovakia." Bite of the Bookworm
"I enjoyed the author’s characterisations and her ability to convey the fear and distrust Czechoslovakians felt during the totalitarian, repressive Stalinist era." Library Journal Reviews
"The mystery was solid and the intrigue was well played out. I’m glad this intense and powerful novel has finally been brought to light." Crimespree Magazine
"Best new mystery." Toronto Star, 27 June, 2015.
"A very entertaining literary experience." Night Owl Suspense
"... A compelling sequence of memorable scenes and taut suspense. No car chases, no gunfights, but the grit and betrayal of espionage are here, along with its pained consequences." Beth Kanell, Kingdom Books, Mysteries - Classic to Cutting Edge
"A perfect feminist noir ... This rediscovered masterpiece captures a chilling moment in the stifling early days of Communist Czechoslovakia ... Margolius Kovály’s vision of 1950s Prague is marked not only by terror, but by shame and humiliation as well. Her heroine must be both fearless and shameless to get even close to achieving her goals, but this is a Soviet noir, so don’t count on a happy ending. Do, however, count on beautiful, intricate, and bleak noir from a master of the genre." MysteryPeople, BookPeople, Austin.
"A beautiful book -- maybe not so much a great mystery novel, but once you're into it you start to realize that the crime component truly is not the important story here. Even if it turned out to be something I wasn't really expecting, I loved this book." The Crime Segments
"This is a brief but powerful novel about everyday people trying to navigate and negotiate, through honest and dishonest means, the tyranny of a communist regime that wants to destroy people who appear not to conform. I came away feeling sad after reading the novel but very much aware of how the people of that time and place had to act in order to survive." Historical Novel Society
"A dark brooding and haunting novel of life in Communist Prague." Military History Book Reviews
"Innocence is haunting and extraordinary." Kittling Books
"An intensely interesting novel." Reviewing the Evidence
"This "new" work from the Soho Crime Club (first published in Czech in 1985, translated and published in English by Soho Crime, 2015) is both a personal story and an homage to genre." Crime Pays
"It is with great pride that Soho brings to life this remarkable story, which deftly combines the cultural and political observations of crime fiction with the more emotionally powerful biographical elements of an author that lived through the 20th century's most brutal times and survived to tell the tale with great humor, wit, and in the case of Innocence, cunning." Broadway World Books
"Innocence, or Murder on Streep Street is clever and satisfying ... At the heart [of the book] is an expose of an inhuman and corrupt society but more than that, a hard and depressing lesson that true innocence in such is unsustainable." Lizzy's Literary Life August 2016
Translating Fact into Fiction, Alex Zucker on translating Innocence
“There is a relatively unknown novel by Heda Margolius Kovály, the widow of Rudolf Margolius, who was executed in the Slánský trial. She was known best for her memoir, Under a Cruel Star, which is an extraordinary memoir. But she also wrote this work of crime fiction. It is set in a movie theatre in 1952. It was just published in English a couple of years ago, posthumously, and it is called Innocence. Although it is crime fiction and designed to be fine reading there is a deeper philosophical point which is that there is no innocence.” "So in other words you are saying that experience left no one with clean hands?" “Exactly. Either way you are guilty. To participate in the resistance is to take on the guilt of retaliation and to not participate is to take on the guilt of passivity.” Interview with Professor Marci Shore, Radio Praha, 23 March, 2019
"This novel is a brilliant example of something very challenging that engages each and every brain cells of the readers to contemplate in their own way and also of something which is thoroughly insightful enough to show the readers a dark picture of the reality as well as of the human souls.
Verdict: In one word, a must read, only if you can handle complexities and multi layers in a plot." Amazon.com
"Outstanding, riveting and wonderful!!!" Amazon.com
Hitler, Stalin a já: Ústní historie 20. století, Heda Margoliová Kovályová a Helena Třeštíková, Mladá fronta, Praha, 2015, založeno na rozhovoru Hedy Margoliové Kovályové, překladatelky a autorky knih Na vlastní kůži (Toronto 1973, Praha 1992, 2003, 2012) a Nevina (Köln 1985, Praha 2013), a Heleny Třeštíkové, filmové dokumentaristky, v bytě Hedy, v Praze 28. – 31. srpna 2000. K vydání připravil Ivan Margolius. Dokumentární film Heleny Třeštíkové stejného názvu byl poprvé předveden Českou televizí v roce 2001. 232 stran, ISBN 978-80-204-3625-2.
English edition published by DoppelHouse Press, USA in 2018.
„Knížku jsem přečetl „na jeden zátah“, její děj je natolik strhující a navíc podaný s takovou bezprostředností a realističností, že si vypravěčka okamžitě získá srdce čtenáře, který ji na její životní pouti doprovází jako někoho, kdo je mu velmi blízký a kdo mu mnohdy „mluví z duše“. Příběhy lidí, kteří s obdivuhodnou statečností zápasí s krutým osudem i v těch nejbeznadějnějších situacích vždycky nacházely své čtenáře. Jsem přesvědčen, že nejinak tomu bude i v případě životní pouti paní Hedy Margoliové-Kovályové. Kniha jejích vzpomínek s názvem Hitler, Stalin…a já má čestné místo v mé knihovně a mohu ji s klidným svědomím doporučit všem, koho oslovují silné příběhy výjimečných osobností …po přečtení této knihy je jasné, že jde o dílo, které má plné právo být zařazeno do zlatého fondu memoárové literatury.” Jan Hofírek Kniha.cz
„Příběh, který napsal sám život, daleko předčí kdejakého scenáristu, který by byl, kdyby napsal postavu prožívající všechno, o čem hovořila Heda, určitě osočován z příliš bujné fantazie. Po všech útrapách byla paní Heda stále člověk s otevřenou myslí a v jejím vyprávění zaznívá spousta životních pravd. Od knihy se těžko odtrhnete, dokud neskončíte na poslední straně. Emocemi nabitý příběh, přesto realistický a bez příkras, vás nenechá v klidu." Kamila Pětrašová, Kultura 21
English edition published by DoppelHouse Press, USA in 2018.
„Knížku jsem přečetl „na jeden zátah“, její děj je natolik strhující a navíc podaný s takovou bezprostředností a realističností, že si vypravěčka okamžitě získá srdce čtenáře, který ji na její životní pouti doprovází jako někoho, kdo je mu velmi blízký a kdo mu mnohdy „mluví z duše“. Příběhy lidí, kteří s obdivuhodnou statečností zápasí s krutým osudem i v těch nejbeznadějnějších situacích vždycky nacházely své čtenáře. Jsem přesvědčen, že nejinak tomu bude i v případě životní pouti paní Hedy Margoliové-Kovályové. Kniha jejích vzpomínek s názvem Hitler, Stalin…a já má čestné místo v mé knihovně a mohu ji s klidným svědomím doporučit všem, koho oslovují silné příběhy výjimečných osobností …po přečtení této knihy je jasné, že jde o dílo, které má plné právo být zařazeno do zlatého fondu memoárové literatury.” Jan Hofírek Kniha.cz
„Příběh, který napsal sám život, daleko předčí kdejakého scenáristu, který by byl, kdyby napsal postavu prožívající všechno, o čem hovořila Heda, určitě osočován z příliš bujné fantazie. Po všech útrapách byla paní Heda stále člověk s otevřenou myslí a v jejím vyprávění zaznívá spousta životních pravd. Od knihy se těžko odtrhnete, dokud neskončíte na poslední straně. Emocemi nabitý příběh, přesto realistický a bez příkras, vás nenechá v klidu." Kamila Pětrašová, Kultura 21
Under a Cruel Star: A Life in Prague 1941-1968, 寒星下的布拉格1941-1968, Flower City Publishing House, Guangdong, China, 11/ 2014, 231 pages, ISBN 978-7-5360-6942-8 (in simplified Chinese)
Bajo una estrella cruel: Una vida en Praga (1941-1968), Libros del Asteroide, Barcelona, 2013, 272 pages, ISBN 978-84-15625-26-1, second edition 2016, third edition 2018, see: Libros del Asteroide
“If I had to sum up in three hundred pages the political tragedies of the last century, no book would be more illuminating than this.” Ángeles López, La Razón.es, 06/03/2013.
“In these extraordinary memories we find an absolutely valid testimony, rich in reflections that should not fall on deaf ears.” Estación en curva, 04/03/2013.
“Fervently I recommend reading this book. This occurred in a European country. We have not sufficient guarantees that some day it never happens again. It is all up to us to know exactly the historical tragedy that took place in a small part of Europe.” J. Ernesto Ayala-Dip, Territorios, El Correo, 02/03/2013.
“It is difficult to emerge unscathed from reading a book so moving and at the same time, so bleak, a book of exquisite tenderness and humanity that counts even when it seems unreal, terrifying, and in which even the reader cannot help but smile at the occasional touches of humor that slip through the seams.” wordpress.com, 16/03/2013.
"The death of Rudolf Margolius is the most severe defeat inflicted on the emancipation of the human consciousness. The fact that a fair system potentially has demolished its inner truth , that is, the failure of communism at the hands of its own instrumental reason, is the capital issue of Margolius Kovály's memories and perhaps the most awkward political enigma of the century past. The figure of the Communist becoming ashes under the wheels of an official car here is infinitely more devastating than the image of the Nazi crematoria spewing its nasty message." Ricardo Menéndez Salmón, La Nueva España, 09/04/2013.
'Perderlo todo y volver a empezar.' La Nación, Buenos Aires, 22/03/2016
“If I had to sum up in three hundred pages the political tragedies of the last century, no book would be more illuminating than this.” Ángeles López, La Razón.es, 06/03/2013.
“In these extraordinary memories we find an absolutely valid testimony, rich in reflections that should not fall on deaf ears.” Estación en curva, 04/03/2013.
“Fervently I recommend reading this book. This occurred in a European country. We have not sufficient guarantees that some day it never happens again. It is all up to us to know exactly the historical tragedy that took place in a small part of Europe.” J. Ernesto Ayala-Dip, Territorios, El Correo, 02/03/2013.
“It is difficult to emerge unscathed from reading a book so moving and at the same time, so bleak, a book of exquisite tenderness and humanity that counts even when it seems unreal, terrifying, and in which even the reader cannot help but smile at the occasional touches of humor that slip through the seams.” wordpress.com, 16/03/2013.
"The death of Rudolf Margolius is the most severe defeat inflicted on the emancipation of the human consciousness. The fact that a fair system potentially has demolished its inner truth , that is, the failure of communism at the hands of its own instrumental reason, is the capital issue of Margolius Kovály's memories and perhaps the most awkward political enigma of the century past. The figure of the Communist becoming ashes under the wheels of an official car here is infinitely more devastating than the image of the Nazi crematoria spewing its nasty message." Ricardo Menéndez Salmón, La Nueva España, 09/04/2013.
'Perderlo todo y volver a empezar.' La Nación, Buenos Aires, 22/03/2016
Nevina aneb Vražda v Příkré ulici (Innocence; or, Murder on Steep Street), Mladá fronta, Praha, 2013, 160 str., ISBN 978-80-204-2592-8, new Czech updated edition published in February 2013 (English translation was published in June 2015 by Soho Press in their Soho Crime imprint).
„Netradiční detektivka exilové spisovatelky Hedy Kovályové Nevina dokazuje, že i čeští tvůrci tento trend [vysoké umění detektivky] zachytili … Knihu zdobí především propracovaná psychologie. Kovályová skvěle vykresluje nejrůznější charaktery typické pro mladý komunismus v Československu a vystavuje je dobově přesným podnětům … Pro autorku však samotné vyšetřovaní není klíčové. Více se soustředí na vykreslení mikrokosmu pražského kina Obzor. A na hlavní postavu, již je Helena … I další postavy však prožívají bohaté osudy. Právě v tom tkví netradičnost celé knihy… Kovályové se daří zachytit ducha doby zcela přesně … z díla čiší jistá slovy nepostižitelná hrůza, jež byla pro tu dobu příznačná. “ Stanislav Šulc, E15, 06/03/2013.
„Poprvé vyšla v exilovém nakladatelství Index v Kolíně nad Rýnem před osmadvaceti lety a dodnes připomíná tragickou událost, která autorku – a nejen ji – v pojmenované době postihla: popravu manžela odsouzeného k smrti v politickém procesu. To se stalo ve skutečnosti.
Kovályová však tomu dala formu detektivky. Přesto jsem při čtení měla pocit memoárů, poněvadž vylíčení tehdejšího ovzduší považuji za hlavní linii díla ... pro mne a ostatní pamětníky je nejvýznamnější otázka kdo je kdo: informátor či tajný estébák nižší nebo vyšší šarže. Řízené přijímání zaměstnanců do malého pražského kina, na oko přátelské prostředí i namlouvání a zároveň hnusné zneužívání až ke skrytému teroru, to vše se odehrává mezi několika zdánlivě bodrými ženami a jejich přechodnými sexy-poměry s cílem udavačství ... Detektivní fabulace s dokumentárním podtextem, který citlivý čtenář vnímá." Irena Zítková, Deník knihy, duben 2013.
Rejdy a techtle kolem biografu Obzor „Překladatelka Goldinga, Rotha či Chandlera nevzpomínala na padesátá léta, která ji připravila o manžela a iluze, pouze v pamětech Na vlastní kůži. Atmosféru stihomamu, v níž se nesmí živořit nadarmo, přenesla Kovályová i do špionážní sítě kolem fiktivního kina Obzor, vedeného nicnetušícími uvaděčkami. Detektivka vydaná poprvé roku 1985 v exilu se zpočátku nevyvíjí podle kánonu žánru, ale finiš nabídne zvrat i zvrat na druhou. A vraždilo-li se v uličce jako stvořené pro kudlu a opěvované právě "drsnou školou", v čem je chandlerovská úspornost? V pražském slangu, který má pifku na vilné estébáky, jištěné soudruhy nadřízenými." ihned.cz, 31/05/2013.
„Heda Kovályová má pozoruhodný vypravěčský styl. Podobá se, zvláště ze začátku, slovnímu vodopádu. Často se s ním setkáme, když se dvě kamarádky sejdou „na kafíčko“ a mají nutkavou potřebu si říct v omezeném čase neomezenou nálož informací. V jejich řeči je cítit naléhavost, nervozita a přetlak, stejně jako v textu Hedy Kovályové ... Zajímavý je konec. Autorka do něj zakomponovala dvě řešení vraždy, ale nejde o konec otevřený, který by si musel nebohý čtenář domýšlet, sama dostatečně zřetelně naznačuje, který je ten pravý. Kniha Nevina přináší svědectví o životě v padesátých letech, nenásilně, autorka nepopisuje své vlastní utrpení ani utrpení svých blízkých. Přesto jednoznačně vyjadřuje pocity člověka, jehož se tehdejší honba za nepřáteli státu tragicky dotkla." Jiří Lojín, vaseliteratura.cz, 03/05/2013.
„Nevina nám přibližuje atmosféru Prahy padesátých let, kterou střídavě vnímáme očima různých postav. Obzvlášť neúprosně jsme do ní vtahováni ve chvílích, kdy autorka přechází ze třetí osoby do první a své hrdince Heleně Novákové vkládá do úst vlastní myšlenky a zkušenosti … Nevina se neodehrává v romantickém světě autorčiny představivosti, ale ve světě, který Heda Margoliová "na vlastní kůži" poznala v době, kdy byl její manžel po kafkovském procesu popraven jako zločinec … V případě Neviny je tomu přesně naopak – nejde o konejšivou četbu, ale o knihu, která zneklidňuje svědomí každého z nás. Zejména pokud patříme ke střední či starší generaci a rádi bychom žili v představě, že jsme ve vztahu k předlistopadové době nevinní, protože jsme nepatřili k těm, kdo v ní páchali špinavosti … Nevina je uvedena mottem z Hemingwaye, podle nějž všechny opravdové špatnosti začínají právě nevinností. Jeho význam se ozřejmuje až v závěru knihy, v němž jedna z Nedomových konfidentek mluví o roli lidí jako on, "takových těch pomocníčků, co dokážou člověka přesvědčit, že tak trochu fízlovat není nic strašnýho, že vlastně na tom ani tak nesejde … Dokážou udělat ze zla samozřejmou, bezvýznamnou záležitost … smazat rozdíl mezi vinou a nevinou, takže to člověku za čas ani nepřijde a nakonec bere i tu vraždu jako nehodu, za kterou nikdo nemůže…" … Pozoruhodně aktuální román Hedy Kovályové nás v této situaci může přivést k hlubšímu přemýšlení o otázkách morální zodpovědnosti." Vít Machálek, Kulturní noviny 1/2014
„Právě překlady Chandlera inspirovaly autorku k vytvoření velmi zajímavé detektivní novely…Kovályová dokáže svádět čtenáře na scestí a vytvářet zdařilé napětí. Co se jí výborně podařilo, bylo zachycení dusivé temnoty a nejistoty doby, kdy si člověk nemohl být jist nikým…Skvělá vypravěčka napsala nenápadný a velmi temný příběh, ze kterého si uděláte velmi jasnou představu o tehdejší době." Lucie Cermanová, www.centrum-detektivky.cz 7/2014.
„Přečetl jsem jedním dechem. Je to skvělé!” Martin Schulz, 20/02/2013.
„Netradiční detektivka exilové spisovatelky Hedy Kovályové Nevina dokazuje, že i čeští tvůrci tento trend [vysoké umění detektivky] zachytili … Knihu zdobí především propracovaná psychologie. Kovályová skvěle vykresluje nejrůznější charaktery typické pro mladý komunismus v Československu a vystavuje je dobově přesným podnětům … Pro autorku však samotné vyšetřovaní není klíčové. Více se soustředí na vykreslení mikrokosmu pražského kina Obzor. A na hlavní postavu, již je Helena … I další postavy však prožívají bohaté osudy. Právě v tom tkví netradičnost celé knihy… Kovályové se daří zachytit ducha doby zcela přesně … z díla čiší jistá slovy nepostižitelná hrůza, jež byla pro tu dobu příznačná. “ Stanislav Šulc, E15, 06/03/2013.
„Poprvé vyšla v exilovém nakladatelství Index v Kolíně nad Rýnem před osmadvaceti lety a dodnes připomíná tragickou událost, která autorku – a nejen ji – v pojmenované době postihla: popravu manžela odsouzeného k smrti v politickém procesu. To se stalo ve skutečnosti.
Kovályová však tomu dala formu detektivky. Přesto jsem při čtení měla pocit memoárů, poněvadž vylíčení tehdejšího ovzduší považuji za hlavní linii díla ... pro mne a ostatní pamětníky je nejvýznamnější otázka kdo je kdo: informátor či tajný estébák nižší nebo vyšší šarže. Řízené přijímání zaměstnanců do malého pražského kina, na oko přátelské prostředí i namlouvání a zároveň hnusné zneužívání až ke skrytému teroru, to vše se odehrává mezi několika zdánlivě bodrými ženami a jejich přechodnými sexy-poměry s cílem udavačství ... Detektivní fabulace s dokumentárním podtextem, který citlivý čtenář vnímá." Irena Zítková, Deník knihy, duben 2013.
Rejdy a techtle kolem biografu Obzor „Překladatelka Goldinga, Rotha či Chandlera nevzpomínala na padesátá léta, která ji připravila o manžela a iluze, pouze v pamětech Na vlastní kůži. Atmosféru stihomamu, v níž se nesmí živořit nadarmo, přenesla Kovályová i do špionážní sítě kolem fiktivního kina Obzor, vedeného nicnetušícími uvaděčkami. Detektivka vydaná poprvé roku 1985 v exilu se zpočátku nevyvíjí podle kánonu žánru, ale finiš nabídne zvrat i zvrat na druhou. A vraždilo-li se v uličce jako stvořené pro kudlu a opěvované právě "drsnou školou", v čem je chandlerovská úspornost? V pražském slangu, který má pifku na vilné estébáky, jištěné soudruhy nadřízenými." ihned.cz, 31/05/2013.
„Heda Kovályová má pozoruhodný vypravěčský styl. Podobá se, zvláště ze začátku, slovnímu vodopádu. Často se s ním setkáme, když se dvě kamarádky sejdou „na kafíčko“ a mají nutkavou potřebu si říct v omezeném čase neomezenou nálož informací. V jejich řeči je cítit naléhavost, nervozita a přetlak, stejně jako v textu Hedy Kovályové ... Zajímavý je konec. Autorka do něj zakomponovala dvě řešení vraždy, ale nejde o konec otevřený, který by si musel nebohý čtenář domýšlet, sama dostatečně zřetelně naznačuje, který je ten pravý. Kniha Nevina přináší svědectví o životě v padesátých letech, nenásilně, autorka nepopisuje své vlastní utrpení ani utrpení svých blízkých. Přesto jednoznačně vyjadřuje pocity člověka, jehož se tehdejší honba za nepřáteli státu tragicky dotkla." Jiří Lojín, vaseliteratura.cz, 03/05/2013.
„Nevina nám přibližuje atmosféru Prahy padesátých let, kterou střídavě vnímáme očima různých postav. Obzvlášť neúprosně jsme do ní vtahováni ve chvílích, kdy autorka přechází ze třetí osoby do první a své hrdince Heleně Novákové vkládá do úst vlastní myšlenky a zkušenosti … Nevina se neodehrává v romantickém světě autorčiny představivosti, ale ve světě, který Heda Margoliová "na vlastní kůži" poznala v době, kdy byl její manžel po kafkovském procesu popraven jako zločinec … V případě Neviny je tomu přesně naopak – nejde o konejšivou četbu, ale o knihu, která zneklidňuje svědomí každého z nás. Zejména pokud patříme ke střední či starší generaci a rádi bychom žili v představě, že jsme ve vztahu k předlistopadové době nevinní, protože jsme nepatřili k těm, kdo v ní páchali špinavosti … Nevina je uvedena mottem z Hemingwaye, podle nějž všechny opravdové špatnosti začínají právě nevinností. Jeho význam se ozřejmuje až v závěru knihy, v němž jedna z Nedomových konfidentek mluví o roli lidí jako on, "takových těch pomocníčků, co dokážou člověka přesvědčit, že tak trochu fízlovat není nic strašnýho, že vlastně na tom ani tak nesejde … Dokážou udělat ze zla samozřejmou, bezvýznamnou záležitost … smazat rozdíl mezi vinou a nevinou, takže to člověku za čas ani nepřijde a nakonec bere i tu vraždu jako nehodu, za kterou nikdo nemůže…" … Pozoruhodně aktuální román Hedy Kovályové nás v této situaci může přivést k hlubšímu přemýšlení o otázkách morální zodpovědnosti." Vít Machálek, Kulturní noviny 1/2014
„Právě překlady Chandlera inspirovaly autorku k vytvoření velmi zajímavé detektivní novely…Kovályová dokáže svádět čtenáře na scestí a vytvářet zdařilé napětí. Co se jí výborně podařilo, bylo zachycení dusivé temnoty a nejistoty doby, kdy si člověk nemohl být jist nikým…Skvělá vypravěčka napsala nenápadný a velmi temný příběh, ze kterého si uděláte velmi jasnou představu o tehdejší době." Lucie Cermanová, www.centrum-detektivky.cz 7/2014.
„Přečetl jsem jedním dechem. Je to skvělé!” Martin Schulz, 20/02/2013.
Under en ond stjerne: Mit liv i Prag 1941-1968, Kristelight Dagblat Forlag, Københagen 2012, 268 pages, ISBN 978-87-7467-106-0, see: Kristeligt Books
"The book expresses some basic human feelings that only the rarest books include. I would give it to young people who ask questions, and forgetful adults." Niels Barfoed, Politiken
"The book flows out of a large and richly human heart." Jens Henneberg, Nordjyske Stiftstidende
"There is hardly any better description of totalitarianism from someone who has experienced it from within." Lars Bonnevie, Weekendavisen
"Heda Kovály does not strive after pity, but describes in a very robust way her life and her destiny. She must have been an unusually strong woman." Bent Jensen, Jyllands-Posten
" It is an excellent and fine book, what Heda Margolius has written is authentic and unsentimental." Henrik Gade Jensen, Kristeligt Dagblad
Excellent destiny story: A new classic - 6 star rating
"Heda Margolius Kovály has written her memoirs with great literary style and deep pain…One cannot read a better presentation of both Nazism and Communism demonic than this description of a woman who fought for her and her family's life under totalitarian regimes…Heda Margolius Kovály's book is written with attention to the broad outlines of the story, a deep human insight and a poetic sense, which makes these memories stronger than many other literature of the 20th century totalitarian depredations. Kristeligt Dagblad Press should be commended even if 40 years late to have given us this masterpiece, translated elegantly by Peter Dürrfeld." Bent Blüdnikow, Berlingske.dk, 30/04/2012.
"The book expresses some basic human feelings that only the rarest books include. I would give it to young people who ask questions, and forgetful adults." Niels Barfoed, Politiken
"The book flows out of a large and richly human heart." Jens Henneberg, Nordjyske Stiftstidende
"There is hardly any better description of totalitarianism from someone who has experienced it from within." Lars Bonnevie, Weekendavisen
"Heda Kovály does not strive after pity, but describes in a very robust way her life and her destiny. She must have been an unusually strong woman." Bent Jensen, Jyllands-Posten
" It is an excellent and fine book, what Heda Margolius has written is authentic and unsentimental." Henrik Gade Jensen, Kristeligt Dagblad
Excellent destiny story: A new classic - 6 star rating
"Heda Margolius Kovály has written her memoirs with great literary style and deep pain…One cannot read a better presentation of both Nazism and Communism demonic than this description of a woman who fought for her and her family's life under totalitarian regimes…Heda Margolius Kovály's book is written with attention to the broad outlines of the story, a deep human insight and a poetic sense, which makes these memories stronger than many other literature of the 20th century totalitarian depredations. Kristeligt Dagblad Press should be commended even if 40 years late to have given us this masterpiece, translated elegantly by Peter Dürrfeld." Bent Blüdnikow, Berlingske.dk, 30/04/2012.
Under a Cruel Star: A Life in Prague 1941-1968, Granta, London, 2012, 192 pages, ISBN 978-1-84708-476-7, see: Granta Books
In 2024 re-issued by Plunkett Lake Press ISBN 978-8-9851925-4-4
"Kovály's writing is brilliantly sharp...This is a brave beautiful book about how humans can overcome atrocious abuse." Leyla Sanai, The Independent, 18/01/2012
"A powerful memoir and analysis of the twin tragedies of recent Czech history...fluent, crisp prose and a gripping read." Anna Foden, Bookmunch, 13/02/2012
"Kovály is a fine writer, with a painterly and subversive eye for detail." Vanessa Curtis, The Jewish Chronicle Online 11/04/2012
"It is the sustained power of the book that is most remarkable...Under a Cruel Star is a very special book ... Kovály shows neither the worst of humanity nor the best – just the average. The everyman who, under Nazis or Communists, keeps his head down and avoids any entanglements that could cause him or his family trouble, even when he might feel a moral imperative to act. But fear and self-preservation are usually stronger than even the most dearly held ideals. These are the important lessons of the book and also the warnings: self-interest may be natural but it also means the destruction of justice and truth, of trust and a life truly worth living." The Captive Reader, 12/11/2012.
"Heda Margolius Kovály was for many years a living example of the depth and despair the human spirit is made to endure when societies run amuck ... [The book] encapsulates a time and a place full of memories that we shouldn’t forget. A time when people were turned against one another, when suspicion and fear ruled the day and when loyalty to a party is greater than loyalty to facts and truth. “Truth alone does not prevail,” Kovaly wrote. “When it clashes with power, truth often loses. It prevails only when people are strong enough to defend it.” We do not speak enough today of this sort of freedom and truth ... We need to think about where we are now and compare it to where we have been. The world has seen much worse, but it won’t mean anything if we don’t use those lessons to conduct us forward ... Freedom, as Kovály fought for it, the right to live one’s life according to your conscience and in privacy, is basically about vigilance. It is something that we must not only guard for ourselves but for each other. And it is important to realize that freedom cannot be granted by what governments do but what they don’t do."
Alex Hubbard, Nashville Tennessean, 20 December, 2019.
In 2024 re-issued by Plunkett Lake Press ISBN 978-8-9851925-4-4
"Kovály's writing is brilliantly sharp...This is a brave beautiful book about how humans can overcome atrocious abuse." Leyla Sanai, The Independent, 18/01/2012
"A powerful memoir and analysis of the twin tragedies of recent Czech history...fluent, crisp prose and a gripping read." Anna Foden, Bookmunch, 13/02/2012
"Kovály is a fine writer, with a painterly and subversive eye for detail." Vanessa Curtis, The Jewish Chronicle Online 11/04/2012
"It is the sustained power of the book that is most remarkable...Under a Cruel Star is a very special book ... Kovály shows neither the worst of humanity nor the best – just the average. The everyman who, under Nazis or Communists, keeps his head down and avoids any entanglements that could cause him or his family trouble, even when he might feel a moral imperative to act. But fear and self-preservation are usually stronger than even the most dearly held ideals. These are the important lessons of the book and also the warnings: self-interest may be natural but it also means the destruction of justice and truth, of trust and a life truly worth living." The Captive Reader, 12/11/2012.
"Heda Margolius Kovály was for many years a living example of the depth and despair the human spirit is made to endure when societies run amuck ... [The book] encapsulates a time and a place full of memories that we shouldn’t forget. A time when people were turned against one another, when suspicion and fear ruled the day and when loyalty to a party is greater than loyalty to facts and truth. “Truth alone does not prevail,” Kovaly wrote. “When it clashes with power, truth often loses. It prevails only when people are strong enough to defend it.” We do not speak enough today of this sort of freedom and truth ... We need to think about where we are now and compare it to where we have been. The world has seen much worse, but it won’t mean anything if we don’t use those lessons to conduct us forward ... Freedom, as Kovály fought for it, the right to live one’s life according to your conscience and in privacy, is basically about vigilance. It is something that we must not only guard for ourselves but for each other. And it is important to realize that freedom cannot be granted by what governments do but what they don’t do."
Alex Hubbard, Nashville Tennessean, 20 December, 2019.
Na vlastní kůži, Edice Paměť, Academia, Praha 2012, 192 str., plus 16 str. čb. přílohy, ISBN 978-80-200-2038-3 (fourth Czech edition of Under a Cruel Star, third in the Czech Republic).
„Na vlastní kůži, jedna z nejsilnějších českých knih dvacátého století." Vít Machálek 17/02/2012
„Heda Margoliová-Kovályová nestaví svůj život proti pomyslnému učebnicovému příběhu válečných a poválečných dějin. Ten spíše skromně komentuje či dokresluje, a především do něj vnáší lidský rozměr. Nepolemizuje za každou cenu, neprosazuje slepě vlastní pravdu, nefilozofuje a prvoplánově nemoralizuje. Nesnaží se za každou cenu o obhajobu popraveného manžela. Naopak místy připouští jeho lidské nedostatky. To, čím kniha zaujme, je osobní pohled a interpretace závažných okamžiků naší nedávné minulosti, k nimž došla na základě vlastních zkušeností – vzpomíná na chvíle, kdy po úspěšném útěku z pochodu smrti hledala v Praze úkryt, jejími slovy člověka, jehož lidskost by byla větší než strach; připomíná poválečné zlořády včetně projevů antisemitismu; zamýšlí se nad příčinami příklonu poválečné společnosti ke komunistickým vizím a nabízí vysvětlení. V jejím pojetí – i když ji samotnou v porovnání s manželem Rudolfem můžeme označit spíše za skeptika – bylo přitakání mnoha lidí myšlence komunismu s jejím svůdným klamem vlastně logické a pochopitelné. Po zkušenostech předchozích válečných let a s vědomím tolika lidských obětí zůstal střízlivý jen málokdo a komunismus se jevil jako systém, v němž se nedávné hrůzy nebudou opakovat. Pisatelka tak předkládá vysvětlení, které zaznívá i v odborné literatuře. Bezprostřednost jejích úvah opírajících se o osobní zážitek nacistického vraždění však dodává jejím postřehům a myšlenkám na důsažnosti a stale aktuálnosti. Důvody, proč oběti jedné diktatury ochotně přijaly diktaturu novou, byly podle ní především emocionální a psychologické. Knihu lze chápat jako osobní svědectví představitelky generace, která se ocitla v turbulencích moderních dějin a v osidlech moci dvou diktatur. Byť při svém líčení nechce překročit hranice privátní sféry své i svých blízkých, zůstává kniha intimní výpovědí o osobnosti a prožívání jedné ženy v nelehkých časech." Dějiny a současnost 9/2012.
„Na vlastní kůži, jedna z nejsilnějších českých knih dvacátého století." Vít Machálek 17/02/2012
„Heda Margoliová-Kovályová nestaví svůj život proti pomyslnému učebnicovému příběhu válečných a poválečných dějin. Ten spíše skromně komentuje či dokresluje, a především do něj vnáší lidský rozměr. Nepolemizuje za každou cenu, neprosazuje slepě vlastní pravdu, nefilozofuje a prvoplánově nemoralizuje. Nesnaží se za každou cenu o obhajobu popraveného manžela. Naopak místy připouští jeho lidské nedostatky. To, čím kniha zaujme, je osobní pohled a interpretace závažných okamžiků naší nedávné minulosti, k nimž došla na základě vlastních zkušeností – vzpomíná na chvíle, kdy po úspěšném útěku z pochodu smrti hledala v Praze úkryt, jejími slovy člověka, jehož lidskost by byla větší než strach; připomíná poválečné zlořády včetně projevů antisemitismu; zamýšlí se nad příčinami příklonu poválečné společnosti ke komunistickým vizím a nabízí vysvětlení. V jejím pojetí – i když ji samotnou v porovnání s manželem Rudolfem můžeme označit spíše za skeptika – bylo přitakání mnoha lidí myšlence komunismu s jejím svůdným klamem vlastně logické a pochopitelné. Po zkušenostech předchozích válečných let a s vědomím tolika lidských obětí zůstal střízlivý jen málokdo a komunismus se jevil jako systém, v němž se nedávné hrůzy nebudou opakovat. Pisatelka tak předkládá vysvětlení, které zaznívá i v odborné literatuře. Bezprostřednost jejích úvah opírajících se o osobní zážitek nacistického vraždění však dodává jejím postřehům a myšlenkám na důsažnosti a stale aktuálnosti. Důvody, proč oběti jedné diktatury ochotně přijaly diktaturu novou, byly podle ní především emocionální a psychologické. Knihu lze chápat jako osobní svědectví představitelky generace, která se ocitla v turbulencích moderních dějin a v osidlech moci dvou diktatur. Byť při svém líčení nechce překročit hranice privátní sféry své i svých blízkých, zůstává kniha intimní výpovědí o osobnosti a prožívání jedné ženy v nelehkých časech." Dějiny a současnost 9/2012.
Na vlastní kůži, Academia, Praha, 2003, 219 str., 16 str. čb. přílohy, ISBN 80-200-1134-X (third Czech edition of Under A Cruel Star, second in the Czech Republic, updated and including illustrations never published before).
V knize Na vlastní kůži zachycuje Heda Margoliová-Kovályová, manželka Rudolfa Margolia, popraveného v politických procesech roku 1952, své životní vzpomínky od 2. světové války až do roku 1968: útěk z koncentračního tábora, posléze život v dusné atmosféře padesátých let a krutý úděl po mužově popravě. Kniha vyšla poprvé v roce 1973 v nakladatelství manželů Škvoreckých Sixty-Eight Publishers v Torontu, byla přeložena do mnoha jazyků a setkala se se zcela mimořádným ohlasem.
„Paměti překladatelky Hedy Margoliové-Kovályové, které vyšly poprvé v roce 1973 v exilovém nakladatelství 68 Publishers, se letos dočkaly již druhé reedice. Čím si vysvětlit takový úspěch, podtržený navíc překlady do mnoha jazyků? Nepochybně literárními schopnostmi autorky, která dokázala svůj dramatický životní příběh vylíčit téměř románovým způsobem. Druhou příčinou zřejmě bude vážnost otázky, kterou si Heda Margoliová-Kovályová klade: jak je možné, že my oběti nacistického totalitarismu jsme nedokázaly prohlédnout totalitarismus komunistický?" Lidové noviny
V knize Na vlastní kůži zachycuje Heda Margoliová-Kovályová, manželka Rudolfa Margolia, popraveného v politických procesech roku 1952, své životní vzpomínky od 2. světové války až do roku 1968: útěk z koncentračního tábora, posléze život v dusné atmosféře padesátých let a krutý úděl po mužově popravě. Kniha vyšla poprvé v roce 1973 v nakladatelství manželů Škvoreckých Sixty-Eight Publishers v Torontu, byla přeložena do mnoha jazyků a setkala se se zcela mimořádným ohlasem.
„Paměti překladatelky Hedy Margoliové-Kovályové, které vyšly poprvé v roce 1973 v exilovém nakladatelství 68 Publishers, se letos dočkaly již druhé reedice. Čím si vysvětlit takový úspěch, podtržený navíc překlady do mnoha jazyků? Nepochybně literárními schopnostmi autorky, která dokázala svůj dramatický životní příběh vylíčit téměř románovým způsobem. Druhou příčinou zřejmě bude vážnost otázky, kterou si Heda Margoliová-Kovályová klade: jak je možné, že my oběti nacistického totalitarismu jsme nedokázaly prohlédnout totalitarismus komunistický?" Lidové noviny
Under A Cruel Star: A Life in Prague 1941-1968, Holmes & Meier, New York, 1997, 192 pages, ISBN 0-8419-1377-3, updated edition: 194 pages, ISBN 978-0-8419-1377-6. Kindle edition available from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk, ebook edition available from Plunkett Lake Press
"Once in a while we read a book that puts the urgencies of our time and ourselves in perspective, making us confront the darker realities of human nature." Anthony Lewis, The New York Times
"A story of human spirit at its most indomitable … one of the outstanding autobiographies of the century." San Francisco Chronicle-Examiner
"An extraordinary memoir...written with so much quiet respect for the minutiae of justice and truth that one does not know where and how to specify Heda Kovály's splendidness as a human being ... It is impossible to read her book without the deepest admiration for her quiet, fierce documentation of the ordeal of the Czech people in our time." Alfred Kazin
"An immensely useful teaching text for undergraduates." Andrea Orzoff, Stanford University, 1998.
"Under A Cruel Star is the most remarkable book for a variety of reasons: because Kovály has such a keen street sense for individual motivations; because her writing is so precise and beautiful: and, most of all, because she conveys such a ferocious and visceral sense that an individual life is just as important – and just as powerful – as governments, militaries, and political might." E. J. Graff, Brandeis Women’s Studies Research Center, Columbia Journalism Review May / June 2005.
“Given thirty seconds to recommend a single book that might start a serious young student on the hard road to understanding the political tragedies of the twentieth century, I would choose this one … All this is recounted in an exemplary amalgam of psychological penetration and terse style … A Google search reveals that the book is on the course in several colleges, but it deserves to be more famous than that.” Clive James www.clivejames.com, Cultural Amnesia: Necessary Memories from History and the Arts, W. W. Norton, New York 2007.
"I used to teach it in what was for many years my favorite course, a survey of essays and novels from Central and Eastern Europe that included the writings of Milan Kundera, Václav Havel, Ivo Andric’, Heda Kovály, Paul Goma, and others." Tony Judt, 'Captive Minds, Then and Now', The New York Review of Books, 13/07/2010.
"The book is interesting ... and surprisingly relevant to current debates over the supposed moral equivalence of the past century’s two totalitarianisms. It also has much to say about East European history and modern memory ... above all, and somewhat remarkably, it is also a book not unduly given over to pessimism or despair." Michael McDonald, 'A Shy Little Bird', The American Interest, Summer May/June 2011
"A firsthand account of a courageous woman’s life at Auschwitz and in Communist Czechoslovakia, a classic memoir of 20th-century totalitarianism. Kovály focuses on what she experienced and appears never to pad her book with accounts by historians or other victims, which makes her book read like a swift-moving dystopian novel narrated by a wise and clear-eyed storyteller who is appropriately outraged by what she sees ...In Under a Cruel Star … Kovály has courage, intelligence, and keenness of perception about people and events. And she retained a similar ability to appreciate joy and beauty amid tragedy.” Janice Harayda, One Minute Book Reviews, 20/04/12.
"Heda Margolius Kovály was for many years a living example of the depth and despair the human spirit is made to endure when societies run amuck ... [The book] encapsulates a time and a place full of memories that we shouldn’t forget. A time when people were turned against one another, when suspicion and fear ruled the day and when loyalty to a party is greater than loyalty to facts and truth. “Truth alone does not prevail,” Kovaly wrote. “When it clashes with power, truth often loses. It prevails only when people are strong enough to defend it.” We do not speak enough today of this sort of freedom and truth ... We need to think about where we are now and compare it to where we have been. The world has seen much worse, but it won’t mean anything if we don’t use those lessons to conduct us forward ... Freedom, as Kovály fought for it, the right to live one’s life according to your conscience and in privacy, is basically about vigilance. It is something that we must not only guard for ourselves but for each other. And it is important to realize that freedom cannot be granted by what governments do but what they don’t do."
Alex Hubbard, Nashville Tennessean, 20 December, 2019.
"I tore through Under a Cruel Star in less than two days, reading on breaks from my work and late into the night. In some ways, it’s an easy read. The book is relatively short, Kovaly knows how to keep her story flowing, and there is plenty of suspense, though not the sort we find in the fast-paced thrillers of today...The message of Under a Cruel Star motivated me, a message from the past sent into the present, like a note in a bottle washed ashore by the sea. It gripped me and drove me forward."
Horror, Heroism and a Woman Called Heda, Jeff Minick, The Epoch Times, 10 August, 2022.
"Once in a while we read a book that puts the urgencies of our time and ourselves in perspective, making us confront the darker realities of human nature." Anthony Lewis, The New York Times
"A story of human spirit at its most indomitable … one of the outstanding autobiographies of the century." San Francisco Chronicle-Examiner
"An extraordinary memoir...written with so much quiet respect for the minutiae of justice and truth that one does not know where and how to specify Heda Kovály's splendidness as a human being ... It is impossible to read her book without the deepest admiration for her quiet, fierce documentation of the ordeal of the Czech people in our time." Alfred Kazin
"An immensely useful teaching text for undergraduates." Andrea Orzoff, Stanford University, 1998.
"Under A Cruel Star is the most remarkable book for a variety of reasons: because Kovály has such a keen street sense for individual motivations; because her writing is so precise and beautiful: and, most of all, because she conveys such a ferocious and visceral sense that an individual life is just as important – and just as powerful – as governments, militaries, and political might." E. J. Graff, Brandeis Women’s Studies Research Center, Columbia Journalism Review May / June 2005.
“Given thirty seconds to recommend a single book that might start a serious young student on the hard road to understanding the political tragedies of the twentieth century, I would choose this one … All this is recounted in an exemplary amalgam of psychological penetration and terse style … A Google search reveals that the book is on the course in several colleges, but it deserves to be more famous than that.” Clive James www.clivejames.com, Cultural Amnesia: Necessary Memories from History and the Arts, W. W. Norton, New York 2007.
"I used to teach it in what was for many years my favorite course, a survey of essays and novels from Central and Eastern Europe that included the writings of Milan Kundera, Václav Havel, Ivo Andric’, Heda Kovály, Paul Goma, and others." Tony Judt, 'Captive Minds, Then and Now', The New York Review of Books, 13/07/2010.
"The book is interesting ... and surprisingly relevant to current debates over the supposed moral equivalence of the past century’s two totalitarianisms. It also has much to say about East European history and modern memory ... above all, and somewhat remarkably, it is also a book not unduly given over to pessimism or despair." Michael McDonald, 'A Shy Little Bird', The American Interest, Summer May/June 2011
"A firsthand account of a courageous woman’s life at Auschwitz and in Communist Czechoslovakia, a classic memoir of 20th-century totalitarianism. Kovály focuses on what she experienced and appears never to pad her book with accounts by historians or other victims, which makes her book read like a swift-moving dystopian novel narrated by a wise and clear-eyed storyteller who is appropriately outraged by what she sees ...In Under a Cruel Star … Kovály has courage, intelligence, and keenness of perception about people and events. And she retained a similar ability to appreciate joy and beauty amid tragedy.” Janice Harayda, One Minute Book Reviews, 20/04/12.
"Heda Margolius Kovály was for many years a living example of the depth and despair the human spirit is made to endure when societies run amuck ... [The book] encapsulates a time and a place full of memories that we shouldn’t forget. A time when people were turned against one another, when suspicion and fear ruled the day and when loyalty to a party is greater than loyalty to facts and truth. “Truth alone does not prevail,” Kovaly wrote. “When it clashes with power, truth often loses. It prevails only when people are strong enough to defend it.” We do not speak enough today of this sort of freedom and truth ... We need to think about where we are now and compare it to where we have been. The world has seen much worse, but it won’t mean anything if we don’t use those lessons to conduct us forward ... Freedom, as Kovály fought for it, the right to live one’s life according to your conscience and in privacy, is basically about vigilance. It is something that we must not only guard for ourselves but for each other. And it is important to realize that freedom cannot be granted by what governments do but what they don’t do."
Alex Hubbard, Nashville Tennessean, 20 December, 2019.
"I tore through Under a Cruel Star in less than two days, reading on breaks from my work and late into the night. In some ways, it’s an easy read. The book is relatively short, Kovaly knows how to keep her story flowing, and there is plenty of suspense, though not the sort we find in the fast-paced thrillers of today...The message of Under a Cruel Star motivated me, a message from the past sent into the present, like a note in a bottle washed ashore by the sea. It gripped me and drove me forward."
Horror, Heroism and a Woman Called Heda, Jeff Minick, The Epoch Times, 10 August, 2022.
Prague Farewell, Victor Gollancz, London 1988, ISBN 0-575-04258-3; Indigo, London, 1997, 224 pages, ISBN 0-575-40086-2 (British edition of Under A Cruel Star, Kindle edition available from Amazon.co.uk).
"A truly unforgettable book." New Statesman
"One does not ‘review’ a book like this. One weeps, and prays … Beautiful evocation of lovely Prague." The Sunday Times
"Written with the sophistication of a litterateur and the immediacy of a survivor." Josef Škvorecký
"A truly unforgettable book." New Statesman
"One does not ‘review’ a book like this. One weeps, and prays … Beautiful evocation of lovely Prague." The Sunday Times
"Written with the sophistication of a litterateur and the immediacy of a survivor." Josef Škvorecký
Nevina aneb Vražda v Příkré ulici (Innocence; or, Murder on Steep Street) by Helena Nováková (pseudonym of Heda Kovályová), Index, Köln, 1985, 152 str., in Czech. A 1950s crime novel published while Heda Margolius Kovály had lived in exile. Now re-published by Soho Press in English (2015) and Mladá fronta in Czech (2013).
Other editions of Heda's memoir
    USA 1973 Japan 1973 Norway 1976 The Netherlands 1990
    Canada 1973 Czechoslovakia 1992 UK 1973 France 1991
    UK 1988 Germany 1992 USA 1989 USA 1986
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List of books / stories / essays translated by Heda from English, French and German into Czech and English and her own original prose and poems in Czech (a selection shown below).
List of articles by Heda, broadcasting works and a list of Pavel Kovály's books and articles.
List of articles by Heda, broadcasting works and a list of Pavel Kovály's books and articles.
Some of Heda's translated books.
Initially due to the political persecution of our family Heda's translations were published under her second husband's, Pavel Kovály's, name, later under their both names, and only under her own name from 1964.
Many of her translations are now being republished, mainly of Raymond Chandler and Saul Bellow.
Reakce čtenáře:
„Právě čtu knihu Jen moře a nebe od letce a jachtaře Francise Chichestera, kterou překládala paní Heda Kovályová na přelomu šedesátých a sedmdesátých let, je to moc pěkný překlad. Kniha byla přeložena svižně, hovorově a "chlapsky" věrně. Byla to úžasná překladatelka."
William Zebulon Foster, Dějiny Komunistické strany USA, Praha, 1954 (History of the Communist Party of the United States) [with and under Pavel Kovály, Čestmír Komárek and Vladimír Smrt names].
Harry K. Wells, Pragmatismus: filosofie imperialismu, Praha, 1956 (Pragmatism: Philosophy of Imperialism) [with and under Pavel Kovály and Vojtěch Tlustý names].
Jawaharlal Nehru, Vlastní životopis, Praha, 1958 (An Autobiography) [under Pavel Kovály's name].
Arnold Zweig, Spor o seržanta Gríšu, Praha, 1959 (Der Streit um den Sergeanten Grischa) [under Pavel Kovály's name].
H. G. Wells, Příběh pana Pollyho, Praha, 1959 (The History of Mr Polly).
J. B. Priestley, Vybrané spisy, Praha, 1960 (Selected Essays) [with Pavel Kovály].
Edna Ferber, Loď komediantů, Praha, 1960 (Show Boat).
John Steinbeck, Pláň Tortilla, Praha, 1960 (Tortilla Flat).
Arnold Bennett, Londýnský antikvář, Praha, 1961 (Riceyman Steps).
Harry K. Wells, Pavlov a Freud, Praha, 1963 (Pavlov and Freud) [with Pavel Kovály].
Carl Marzani, Kdo přežije, Praha, 1963 (The Survivor).
Heinrich Böll, 'Když válka začala', 'Když válka skončila', Světová literatura 1/1964, Praha ('Als der Krieg ausbrach', 'Als der Krieg zu Ende war').
Budd Schulberg, Tím hůř, když padnou, Praha, 1964 (The Harder They Fall).
Kingsley Amis & Robert Conquest, Egyptolové, Praha, 1965, 1993 (The Egyptologists).
K. E. Gilbert & H. Kuhn, Dějiny estetiky: Praha, 1965 (A History of Esthetics) [with Pavel Kovály].
Raymond Chandler, 'Král v žlutém rouše', (Smrt přichází oknem), Praha, 1966 ('The King in Yellow').
Philip Roth, Sbohem město C, Praha, 1966 (Goodbye, Columbus).
Damon Runyon, ‘Dům jedné staré křehotinky’, Plamen 4/1966, Praha (‘The Old Doll’s House’).
James Thurber - yet to be located.
Noel Coward - yet to be located.
Agatha Christie, 'Záhada španělské truhly', (Záhada španělské truhly), Praha, 1967 ('The Mystery of the Spanish Chest').
Raymond Chandler, Sbohem buď, lásko má, Praha, 1967, 1997, 2002, 2005, 2011 (Farewell, My Lovely).
Raymond Chandler, Sestřička, Praha, 1969, 1992, 2006, 2013 (The Little Sister).
Saul Bellow, Herzog, Praha, 1968, 1993, 2006 (Herzog).
William Golding, Pán much, Praha, 1968, 1993, 2003, 2014, 2021 (Lord of the Flies).
Raymond Chandler, Vysoké okno, Praha, 1969 x 2, 1992, 2000, 2004, 2012 (The High Window).
Irwin Shaw, Láska v temné ulici, Praha, 1970, 2018 (Love on a Dark Street).
Francis Chichester, Jen moře a nebe, Praha, 1970 (The Lonely Sea and the Sky).
Muriel Spark, Balada z předměstí, Praha, 1970 (The Ballad of Peckham Rye).
Egon Hostovský Vzpomínky, 'Jak je to dávno', Toronto, 1974, (original poem in Czech).
Jan Drábek, A co Václav?, Toronto, 1975, 1992 (Whatever Happened to Wenceslas?).
Arthur Miller, Strop v arcibiskupském paláci, Toronto, 1989 (The Archbishop's Ceiling).
Karel Hvížďala – Zdena Salivarová, Benefice, Toronto, 1990, ‘Můj psací stůl’ (original prose in Czech).
Akciová společnost pro automobilový průmysl, 'How to ruin your automobile without much effort and quickly?', Škoda Laurin & Klement, London, 1992 ('Chcete zničit svůj vůz snadno a rychle?', from Czech into English).
Le Corbusier, 'Dessins', Architectural Design 73/3, London, 2002 (from French into English).
Articles
'From Auschwitz to Prague: A Memoir', Commentary, December 1972, pp. 47 - 53.
‘Ze vzpomínek ženy státního zločince’, Svědectví 44, 1972, pp. 578 - 588.
'Voices from the Other Europe', Dissent, Spring 1976, pp. 219 - 220.
'Therefore Choose Life, Not Robots', New York Times Book Review, 25 March, 1990.
'Beyond Wenceslas Square: Views from the Other Europe', Bostonia, March/April 1990.
'Na vlastní kůži', Literární noviny, 8 February, 1992.
'The Seductive Banality of Life', New York Times Book Review, 26 April, 1992.
'Co je pro nás dneska štěstí', Literární noviny, 6 August, 1994.
Interviews
Don Lessem, 'Heda's Story', The Boston Globe Magazine, 26 April, 1987, pp. 17, 73 - 85.
Other Europe: Jacques Rupnik: Interview with Heda Margolius Kovály, New York, 10 January, 1988.
Interview with Heda Margolius-Kovály for BBC Education broadcast on 23 March 1990, BBC2 at 8.50pm.
Interview with Heda Kovály, Fortunoff Video Archive For Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University, 1997. See Heda's testimony here: https://fortunoff.aviaryplatform.com/r/xs5j960m47.
'Heda Margolius Kovály in a Conversation with One Eye Open', Volume 2, Summer 2002, Prague, pp. 1 - 32.
Broadcasting
Heda contributed monthly cultural bulletins to the Voice of America Czech section broadcasts between 1973 and 1976 under the Káča Králová pseudonym.
Awards
The French edition of Heda's memoir Le premier printemps de Prague (Payot, Paris 1991) was selected as a finalist in the 23e Grand Prix Des Lectrices 1992, in the 'Documents' category.
Books / articles by Dr Pavel Kovály (1928-2006), author, philosophy lecturer and researcher
Americký Personalismus, Nakladatelství Československé akademie věd, Praha, 1962, 289 pages.
Rehumanization or Dehuminazation, Branden Press, Boston, 1974, 153 pages, ISBN 0-8283-1536-1.
'Arnošt Kolman: Portrait of a Marxist-Leninist philosopher', Studies in East European Thought, no. 12,1972, pp. 337–366.
Many of her translations are now being republished, mainly of Raymond Chandler and Saul Bellow.
Reakce čtenáře:
„Právě čtu knihu Jen moře a nebe od letce a jachtaře Francise Chichestera, kterou překládala paní Heda Kovályová na přelomu šedesátých a sedmdesátých let, je to moc pěkný překlad. Kniha byla přeložena svižně, hovorově a "chlapsky" věrně. Byla to úžasná překladatelka."
William Zebulon Foster, Dějiny Komunistické strany USA, Praha, 1954 (History of the Communist Party of the United States) [with and under Pavel Kovály, Čestmír Komárek and Vladimír Smrt names].
Harry K. Wells, Pragmatismus: filosofie imperialismu, Praha, 1956 (Pragmatism: Philosophy of Imperialism) [with and under Pavel Kovály and Vojtěch Tlustý names].
Jawaharlal Nehru, Vlastní životopis, Praha, 1958 (An Autobiography) [under Pavel Kovály's name].
Arnold Zweig, Spor o seržanta Gríšu, Praha, 1959 (Der Streit um den Sergeanten Grischa) [under Pavel Kovály's name].
H. G. Wells, Příběh pana Pollyho, Praha, 1959 (The History of Mr Polly).
J. B. Priestley, Vybrané spisy, Praha, 1960 (Selected Essays) [with Pavel Kovály].
Edna Ferber, Loď komediantů, Praha, 1960 (Show Boat).
John Steinbeck, Pláň Tortilla, Praha, 1960 (Tortilla Flat).
Arnold Bennett, Londýnský antikvář, Praha, 1961 (Riceyman Steps).
Harry K. Wells, Pavlov a Freud, Praha, 1963 (Pavlov and Freud) [with Pavel Kovály].
Carl Marzani, Kdo přežije, Praha, 1963 (The Survivor).
Heinrich Böll, 'Když válka začala', 'Když válka skončila', Světová literatura 1/1964, Praha ('Als der Krieg ausbrach', 'Als der Krieg zu Ende war').
Budd Schulberg, Tím hůř, když padnou, Praha, 1964 (The Harder They Fall).
Kingsley Amis & Robert Conquest, Egyptolové, Praha, 1965, 1993 (The Egyptologists).
K. E. Gilbert & H. Kuhn, Dějiny estetiky: Praha, 1965 (A History of Esthetics) [with Pavel Kovály].
Raymond Chandler, 'Král v žlutém rouše', (Smrt přichází oknem), Praha, 1966 ('The King in Yellow').
Philip Roth, Sbohem město C, Praha, 1966 (Goodbye, Columbus).
Damon Runyon, ‘Dům jedné staré křehotinky’, Plamen 4/1966, Praha (‘The Old Doll’s House’).
James Thurber - yet to be located.
Noel Coward - yet to be located.
Agatha Christie, 'Záhada španělské truhly', (Záhada španělské truhly), Praha, 1967 ('The Mystery of the Spanish Chest').
Raymond Chandler, Sbohem buď, lásko má, Praha, 1967, 1997, 2002, 2005, 2011 (Farewell, My Lovely).
Raymond Chandler, Sestřička, Praha, 1969, 1992, 2006, 2013 (The Little Sister).
Saul Bellow, Herzog, Praha, 1968, 1993, 2006 (Herzog).
William Golding, Pán much, Praha, 1968, 1993, 2003, 2014, 2021 (Lord of the Flies).
Raymond Chandler, Vysoké okno, Praha, 1969 x 2, 1992, 2000, 2004, 2012 (The High Window).
Irwin Shaw, Láska v temné ulici, Praha, 1970, 2018 (Love on a Dark Street).
Francis Chichester, Jen moře a nebe, Praha, 1970 (The Lonely Sea and the Sky).
Muriel Spark, Balada z předměstí, Praha, 1970 (The Ballad of Peckham Rye).
Egon Hostovský Vzpomínky, 'Jak je to dávno', Toronto, 1974, (original poem in Czech).
Jan Drábek, A co Václav?, Toronto, 1975, 1992 (Whatever Happened to Wenceslas?).
Arthur Miller, Strop v arcibiskupském paláci, Toronto, 1989 (The Archbishop's Ceiling).
Karel Hvížďala – Zdena Salivarová, Benefice, Toronto, 1990, ‘Můj psací stůl’ (original prose in Czech).
Akciová společnost pro automobilový průmysl, 'How to ruin your automobile without much effort and quickly?', Škoda Laurin & Klement, London, 1992 ('Chcete zničit svůj vůz snadno a rychle?', from Czech into English).
Le Corbusier, 'Dessins', Architectural Design 73/3, London, 2002 (from French into English).
Articles
'From Auschwitz to Prague: A Memoir', Commentary, December 1972, pp. 47 - 53.
‘Ze vzpomínek ženy státního zločince’, Svědectví 44, 1972, pp. 578 - 588.
'Voices from the Other Europe', Dissent, Spring 1976, pp. 219 - 220.
'Therefore Choose Life, Not Robots', New York Times Book Review, 25 March, 1990.
'Beyond Wenceslas Square: Views from the Other Europe', Bostonia, March/April 1990.
'Na vlastní kůži', Literární noviny, 8 February, 1992.
'The Seductive Banality of Life', New York Times Book Review, 26 April, 1992.
'Co je pro nás dneska štěstí', Literární noviny, 6 August, 1994.
Interviews
Don Lessem, 'Heda's Story', The Boston Globe Magazine, 26 April, 1987, pp. 17, 73 - 85.
Other Europe: Jacques Rupnik: Interview with Heda Margolius Kovály, New York, 10 January, 1988.
Interview with Heda Margolius-Kovály for BBC Education broadcast on 23 March 1990, BBC2 at 8.50pm.
Interview with Heda Kovály, Fortunoff Video Archive For Holocaust Testimonies, Yale University, 1997. See Heda's testimony here: https://fortunoff.aviaryplatform.com/r/xs5j960m47.
'Heda Margolius Kovály in a Conversation with One Eye Open', Volume 2, Summer 2002, Prague, pp. 1 - 32.
Broadcasting
Heda contributed monthly cultural bulletins to the Voice of America Czech section broadcasts between 1973 and 1976 under the Káča Králová pseudonym.
Awards
The French edition of Heda's memoir Le premier printemps de Prague (Payot, Paris 1991) was selected as a finalist in the 23e Grand Prix Des Lectrices 1992, in the 'Documents' category.
Books / articles by Dr Pavel Kovály (1928-2006), author, philosophy lecturer and researcher
Americký Personalismus, Nakladatelství Československé akademie věd, Praha, 1962, 289 pages.
Rehumanization or Dehuminazation, Branden Press, Boston, 1974, 153 pages, ISBN 0-8283-1536-1.
'Arnošt Kolman: Portrait of a Marxist-Leninist philosopher', Studies in East European Thought, no. 12,1972, pp. 337–366.
Some of Heda's book jackets designs published under the name Ivan Martin (for Symposion of Rudolf Škeřík)
or Heda Kovályová, 1947-60.
or Heda Kovályová, 1947-60.
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