An absolute masterpiece, and the finest argument against the Communist mindset you are likely to find. ( )

Karel Leden is complacent. Once a poet, he now works for the State publishing house, trying to maintain his self-respect while at the same time keeping his job. Supporting anything radical could result in his being fired, or worse. His personal life is filled with a string of women whom he loves only when they seem to lose interest in him. A rather boring but likable cad. But then one day at the beach, he meets the elusive Lenka Silver, the object of his best friend's affection. Karel is immediately drawn to her and plots to get in bed with her. Dumping his ballerina girlfriend, Vera, Karel pursues the mysterious Lenka to no avail. Her disinterest only heightens his ardor. Meanwhile things at work are heating up as a new editor tries to sell Karel's boss on a new author whose book pushes the boundary of what is acceptable to the State. The machinations are intense and petty hatreds are inflamed. Then both Karel's private and work worlds collide at a company party near the lake. By morning someone is dead, and only Karel knows who the killer is.

Josef Škvorecký knew first hand the life of a repressed author working in State publishing. His first novel, [The Cowards], was met with great acclaim, but was then banned by the Communist Party. He was fired from his job as editor of World Literature and was lucking to be allowed to work at the State Publishing House of Fiction. Škvorecký was able to leave Czechoslovakia after the Russian invasion which crushed the Prague Spring. [Miss Silver's Past] was his last book to be published in the country.

Although the novel is typical of East European literature of the time, I was surprised by the inclusion of a murder mystery. Between the twists in Karel's love life, the humorous tone, and the murder, I found myself unwilling to put the book down. Entertaining, if not earth-shattering. ( )