Prominent Czech writer Vladimír Páral dies at 94

Czech writer Vladimír Páral died on Monday at a hospital in Cheb on his 94th birthday, the Czech News Agency reported.  The prominent Czech novelist and satirist was known for his sharp-eyed fiction exploring life and human relationships. He published more than 20 books, including the novels Private Storm, Catapult, Professional Woman and Joy Until Morning.

Some of his works form part of the so-called Black Pentalogy, written mainly in the 1960s, and the later White Pentalogy, published during the period of Communist normalization.

Many of Páral’s novels became bestsellers and were translated into foreign languages. Seven were adapted for the cinema. During the Communist era, people queued to buy his books, several of which were subsequently made into films.

In 2010, Páral received the Ladislav Fuks Prize for his lifetime contribution to Czech literature.