Time's Magpie: A Walk in Prague

TIME’S MAGPIE: A WALK IN PRAGUE: Myla Goldberg: Crown: 2004: Nonfiction: 144 pages.

Myla Goldberg, author of Bee Season, is an excellent tour guide through the interesting and sometimes bizarre parts of Prague few tourists take the time to visit. From Franz Kafka’s grave to the cabinets of curiosity in the Strahov Monastery, Goldberg’s insightful and quirky comments reveal that Prague’s complex past, from its various kings and rulers, to the Protestant Hussite movement, through the Nazi invasion during World War II and finally nearly 50 years of Communist rule combine to make the city, like a magpie bird, a “collector, hoarding beautiful eclectic bits.”

This book will be enjoyed by anyone who has visited Prague or plans to in the future. Having traveled to Prague recently, it was fun to re-live some of my own experiences like when Goldberg describes subway ticket checks by plain-clothes policemen, but I also enjoyed learning about some of the sights I missed.

AJ