Memory Burn

<p><em style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(51 51 51 1)>Memory Burn</em><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(51 51 51 1)> is a coming-of-age story of a queer boy from a Czech industrial town. Torčík' delves into the recesses of memory in an effort to come to terms with painful memories from his childhood. As a homosexual boy with a slight build growing up in a small industrial town the protagonist of the story faces severe bullying at school but his problems aren't over once he gets home: his mother a low-paid factory worker who has to look after her father an alcoholic nearing the end of his life has very little tolerance of her son's sexual orientation. One bright spot amid the bleakness of small-town life is the friendship he strikes up with a Romany classmate Marian which later develops into a romantic relationship. In the novel </span><em style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(51 51 51 1)>Memory Burn</em><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(51 51 51 1)> Marek Torčík not only describes people living on the fringes of society in a convincing sophisticated and precise way but also implies that sometimes it is better to wipe the slate clean and liberate oneself from negative childhood memories.</span></p><p></p><p><span style=color: rgba(51 51 51 1); background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1)>The Czech original of the novel (</span><em style=color: rgba(51 51 51 1); background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1)>Rozložíš paměť)</em><span style=color: rgba(51 51 51 1); background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1)> won the 2024 Magnesia Litera Award and the 2024 Jiří Orten Prize. </span></p>