Detective in Babylon

Richard Brautigan, an American writer described as the last and most literary of the beatniks, is well known to Czech readers. Already in 1986, Olga Špilarová translated his book In Melon Sugar, which became a cult classic in the then Czechoslovakia.

The brilliant prose Detective in Babylon was first published in 1977 with the subtitle Novel of a Private Eye in 1942. The cover of the first edition already suggests that it will not be a classic detective story, but a narrative that takes this genre as a springboard to create an absurd story in which, in addition to countless humorous situations, human existence is exposed. It is not for nothing that the novel has been called a metaphysical detective story. The main character C. Card is exposed to a miserable life situation (poor conditions, debts, hunger) and at the same time experiences the bliss induced by dreaming. At any time he is able to " switch" and find himself in ancient Babylon, where he is always successful and always by the side of his beautiful girlfriend Nana-dirat. However, the description of the events of one afternoon and evening in which C. Card, after a very long time, fulfilling an order, may seem at least as absurd as the world of dreams. The portrayal of all the characters and situations is extremely accurate and funny.