Slovak Literature in English Translation

by Balla
translated by Julia and Peter Sherwood
Jantar Publishing, London, UK
October 2019
122 pages, paperback
ISBN 978-0-9934467-8-8

The novella Big Love was originally published by Koloman Kertész Bagala in 2015 as Veľká láska and was shortlisted for the Anasoft Litera award in 2016. Subverting the cliché of romantic love, Big Love offers a satirical take on contemporary society, in which the triumph of liberal democracy has amplified rather than diminished the absurdity of present-day life.

Read an excerpt from Big Love

More About This Title in the Press

“Energy in Search of Subject” by Kathryn Murphy in The Times Literary Supplement, February 2023

Review by Sarah Hinlicky Wilson in Slovak Novels in English, August 2020

“Lucy Popescu reviews three novels by Slovak authors on tour” on BookBlast, November 2019

“Madness and Misanthropy” by Donald Rayfield in Literary Review, October 2019

“Review: Big Love by Balla & The Night Circus and Other Stories by Uršuľa Kovalyk” by Andreea Scridon in The London Magazine, October 2019

“Writing one’s self out of romance: Balla’s Big Love” by Joseph Schreiber on roughghosts, October 2019

“Jennifer Sarha reviews Big Love by Balla” in Riveting Reviews (European Literature Network)