The novel “It Happened on the First of September (or Some Other Time)” follows the lives of four friends: the Czech Jan (or Honza), the Slovak Maria, the Hungarian Peter (or Ronai), and the Jewish Gabriel. Spanning 30 years of Czechoslovak history – from the beginning of the Second World War to the Prague Spring – it focuses on life under the Communist regime in the small town of Levice, in southern Slovakia. The narrative unfolds on the first of September each year, beginning on 1 September 1938 and ending on 1 September 1968.

“Seeing People Off” follows Elza and Ian, a young couple living in an apartment complex in Petržalka, Bratislava’s largest district. They frequent the coffee shops of Bratislava, indulging in drinking, smoking, and experiencing strange visions of walls that play music. It’s a short novel that explores the sense of ennui of young people and their desire to escape the monotony of city life.

During his stay in Bratislava, a Danish university professor encounters a woman who claims to be his half-sister. Meanwhile, in Copenhagen, another sister is arrested on suspicion of having been a Stasi agent. Following a murder, the protagonist and the Danish intelligence service launch an investigation to uncover the connection between the two women.

“Sunset Over Chocolate Mountains” is a novel with three intertwined narratives, set primarily in Arizona (USA) and Partizánske (Slovakia). The first narrative follows Theobald Moon, an overweight thirty-something Brit who emigrates to the Sonoran Desert in Arizona to live in an isolated mobile home surrounded by cactuses and wild animals. The second narrative centres on Theobald’s daughter, Josephine, who assists him in his ice scream business while grappling with questions about her father’s past and his relationship with her mother. The third strand of the novel tells the love story of Eva, who works in a shoe factory in Slovakia, and Tibor, a Slovakian ice cream vendor. Their arrival in the Arizona desert dramatically alters the lives of Theobald and Josephine.

“Rivers of Babylon” is a crime novel set against the backdrop of Bratislava’s underworld during the Velvet Revolution of 1989, the transition from Communist rule to democracy in Czechoslovakia. The story follows Rácz, a poor man from the Slovak countryside who becomes a gangster in Bratislava and ends up ruling the city through his control of the heating pipes.

“In the Labyrinth” is a fictionalised memoir of a German businessman who, in the aftermath of the Second World War, is arrested by American forces and handed over to the Czechoslovak authorities. Accused of Nazi collaboration, he is imprisoned for six years in Communist Czechoslovakia, without formal trial and without having committed the crimes alleged against him.

“Embers” by Sándor Márai is a novel about an elderly general who lives in an isolated castle in the woods, and his visitor, a former best friend whom he hasn’t seen in over 40 years. Through their evening dinner conversations, it becomes clear that a deep, unresolved resentment lingers between the two men. The general suspects that his friend attempted to kill him years ago and is now seeking an answer to his questions. Meanwhile, the memory of the general’s late wife casts a shadow over their interactions.

In a mountain village in Slovakia, Peter proposes to his childhood sweetheart, Magdalena. However, her mother has already promised her to Jano, a wealthy but cruel farmer. Magdalena tells Peter she will marry him if he can prove that he is able to build a house and provide for them. When Peter returns two years later to fulfil his promise, Magdalena’s life has taken a tragic turn.

The inhabitants of a Hungarian (now Slovakian) village believe that Saint-Peter himself has visited their parish and left behind a red umbrella. The umbrella becomes a revered object, attracting fame and visitors to the village.