Czech / Czech Republic
A
Čech, Pavel
(illus.)
[Havlíčkův Brod]: Petrkov, 2016. – [59] p.
ISBN 978-80-87595-57-2
Dictatorship | Censorship | Freedom of thought | Wordless book | Comic
Reading age: 10+
White Ravens issue: 2017
A young man lives under the dictatorship of “A”: Everyone says, thinks and feels “A” – or is at least expected to. There are buildings in “A” form, and newspapers write articles exclusively using the letter “A”. One day the man finds a forbidden flyer with the message: “B”. New ideas germinate in him: other thoughts, beliefs, and ways of life are possible! In an extraordinary effort, the young man floods the dictatorship with books and texts containing all the letters of the alphabet. “A” is a fabulous comic by Czech illustrator Pavel Čech. With narrative acumen, Čech not only captures life in an oppressive system, but also shows how it is possible to resist and overthrow it. Aside from the symbolic letters “A” and “B”, which stand in for messages, information, and censorship, Čech’s book is textless – making it even more extraordinary and gripping in its expressive power.