Time's Magpie

November 15, 2004
Goldberg, author of the acclaimed 2001 novel Bee Season, depicts a culturally and historically complex Prague in this newest entry in the Crown Journeys series (after Kinky Friedman's The Great Psychedelic Armadillo Picnic). In describing her experiences visiting such traditional tourist destinations as Kafka's grave and lesser-known attractions like the display cabinets in the Strahov Monastery, Goldberg brings to life Prague's past; upon entering the reading room at the Czech National Library, she imagines how the room must have looked centuries ago, the"rectangular wooden tables lined with hungry Jesuits, the air echoing with sounds of priestly mastication." Goldberg also recounts her interactions with the Czechs, comparing the economic and cultural development of the city to the values and dispositions of its inhabitants. Her encounter with two police officers who demand that she pay a fine for walking along a passageway prohibited to pedestrians demonstrates the lamentable reality that"the Westernization of Prague's commercial sector does not extend to its cops," the majority of whom"are interested in using their position in whatever way they can for personal or material gain." Goldberg's musings on all aspects of the Prague experience, from the dearth of public bathroom facilities at the Lunapark amusement area to the resonant sounds of the city ("the rubber burble of car tires against cobblestone, the screech of tram wheels grinding against the rails, the clomp of a babushka's heavy shoes against the sidewalk, and the murmur of manifold conversations"), make this a rich and vivid reflection on a beautiful, multifaceted city.

Starred review from November 1, 2004
Novelist Goldberg (Bee Season) spent a year in Prague as an expatriate in the early 1990s, writing and teaching English to ex-Communist officials. Returning ten years later, she vividly describes current places and events-a neighborhood turned into a ghost town by the recent devastating flood, antiwar protests in the main square, an encounter with corrupt police officers, a late-night tram ride with Czech citizens in various states of inebriation-against portraits of the city's famous sites. The historic Prague of monasteries, medieval libraries, the Astronomical Tower, and Charles Bridge exists side by side with the modern Prague of skateboarders and amusement parks. Goldberg depicts both in an equally engaging manner, allowing her fiction writer's voice to infuse each essay with exquisite detail. A fascinating look at Prague and another winner in the "Crown Journeys" series; highly recommended for all libraries.-Rita Simmons, Sterling Heights P.L., MI

Copyright 2004 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2004
This latest volume in the Crown Journeys series of travelogues explores a currently popular destination for American travelers: the elegant Czech capital. Westernization now floods Prague in the wake of the remarkably easy toppling of the Communist regime, so Goldberg, author of the best-selling novel " Bee Season" (2000), encounters new American restaurants that have cropped up, but more resonantly and impressively for the tourist, the lovely and abundant evidence of Prague's rich architectural past is what she is most drawn to. As the author so personally and poignantly indicates, the basis of Prague's great attraction is that it is an "old and retentive" city; it is an escapee from the physical destructions of central Europe's wars (most notably World War II); and it is "time's magpie, hoarding beautiful, eclectic bits from each successive era" of its 10 centuries of dramatic history.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2004, American Library Association.)