Narrative

Novels

There are no sales figures for books and many different top ten lists at shops around the city or online, but this is a pretty good guess of what was the most popular fiction in the summer of 2009. Interestingly, six of those selected are foreign – from Canada, Sweden, the United States, and Brazil. Paulo Coelho and John Grisham are good representatives of international fiction that seems to translate and sell well regardless of location, along with others such as Dan Brown or Danielle Steele. The Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer might have been included in this list, as well. The final segment appeared at the end of August and flew up the charts regardless of the unusually high price of near 16 Euros. The Shack by Paul William Young, a Canadian novel, is interesting because it taps into the subtle spiritual/religious category that seems popular in Slovakia, somehow blending fiction and self-help in an eclectic re-presentation of traditional values. Secret is connected to the self-help industry although in a more secular way. Mafia in Bratislava capitalizes on the violent representation of underground activity often brought to the fore by local media reports. This book has been quickly followed by another by the same publisher called Mafia in Slovakia. Boris Filan’s narratives, often based upon travel experiences, are regular best-sellers. Although Czech writers and language still do well in Slovakia publishers and sellers indicate the growing viability of locally-produced Slovak authors. Besides Filan, Dominik Dan’s crime mystery novels are both respected and well-liked. The really popular fiction genre, however, remains romance. Two examples are included on this list. Tana Keleova-Vasilkova is called ‘the Slovak Danielle Steele’ for self-explanatory reasons – she is the reigning queen of best-selling romance fiction. Andrea Coddington’s Mal to Byt Pekny Zivot is interesting largely because the publisher Evita Press is an incoming, innovative seller of cheap paperback fiction (sold in vending machines at the bus station as well as in shops). Of course, other authors and titles could have been included in this list: Matkin, Hvorecky, Elias, and Urbanikova come to mind.