Přízračná zjevení v románovém obraze novodobých dějin : k fantastičnosti románu Odcizená krajina Jaroslava Čejky

This essay focuses on supernatural motifs in Odcizená krajina (Estranged Landscape, 2013), a novel by Jaroslav Čejka. Considering dramatic experiences of protagonists, the story chronologically depicts the longer period of Czech history of the 20th century (from the Second World War to the end of the century). The presented fictional world is based on authentic realities (actual historical events and personalities, authentic dates, actual places etc.), and is further reinforced with thematic elements whose fictional representation coincides with physical laws of the actual world. However, the novel simultaneously thematizes the motifs of phantom visions (especially in a form of a magical landscape painting that accompanies lives of the protagonists) that affect the dominant realistic modality of the story, bringing about specific consequences for the fictional depiction of our modern history. The picture suggests that the fate of the individual sometimes deviates from logical laws; instead, it is subjected to principles whose essence cannot be grasped by our cognitive abilities.