Bohemica Olomucensia

Rozložíš paměť (Memory Burn) by Marek TorčíK in the Context of Contemporary Committed "Autofictions"

Autofiction could be perceived as a specific poetic expression symptomatic for the first quarter of the 21st century, reflecting the place of an individual in present complex world. Authors react through their texts by opening personal questions and themes in individualized post-industrial society, literary searching for one's identity, sometimes overlapping to committed poetic expression based on personal story with ambition to create a manifesto or became an actant of social and cultural debate. This text deals with Marek Torčík's Rozložíš paměť (Memory Burn) which received positive critical responses of Czech literary critics, also won domestic literary awards, and belongs to the committed line of autofiction. The study focuses mainly on the thematic analysis and interpretation of the reflection of social phenomena (minority, identity, poverty, peripheral social classes). Furthermore, interpretation is focused on - in existing literary criticism neglected - character of narrator's mother who mirrors precarity of the labour market persisting in Czech society. The study also compares motifs of Torčík's prose with canonical work of French writer Édouard Louise with whom is Torčík often compared.

Keywords: contemporary Czech prose; autofiction; literary criticism; literary awards