It's like a wire
Audiobook
It's like a wire
Odyssey from the Kysuce Mountains to America: two centuries, two continents, one unforgettable story
A gripping generational saga beginning in 1850 that takes you through two centuries and two continents. At the same time that railways connected Vienna with Hamburg and steamships displaced sailing ships on their way to America, Zoltán is born in the wild Kysuce mountains. The poor family is mainly supported by her mother Maria, but she can't manage the farm on her own, so she sets out for a better life on the advice of her worldly-wise godfather. They are heading to Ústí nad Labem, of a city that was until recently sleepy, which, thanks to the track, river and an endless supply of coal, it became overnight the incredible booming center of a new era, with dozens of factories and the largest port in the monarchy, where the fates of thousands of people of many nationalities intermingled. So begins a thrilling odyssey that takes the reader from the Uplands to America, a tale of friendship around campfires and the struggle to survive in a world of coal smoke.
The publication of the book was supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic
Ondřej Šanc
Ondřej Šanc (*1979) was born and grew up in Ústí nad Labem, in an environment of decaying historical districts, factory walls and perpetual smoke. He spent his weekends with his troop and alone on expeditions into the surrounding wilderness, he liked to read and enjoyed history. After the Revolution, he entered a seven-year grammar school and from the age of sixteen began to hitchhike around Europe. At the same time, through the so-called. Living History, he became more interested in Native American culture and history, which has lasted to this day. He studied to be an English and history teacher, but did not finish his studies because of his passion for travel. He taught English, worked as a maintenance man in the Nevada desert, worked as a warehouse worker in a factory, and eventually became a social worker. In 2004, he and his wife bought a timbered farm in the Bohemian Central Highlands, a cultural monument, which they have been patiently repairing and where they have built and run a family organic farm. They also live on the farm and are raising three sons.
