|
|
Karol D. Horváth
Karol D. HorváthKarol D. Horváth (1961) is a prose writer and the author of a number of stage plays and dramatisations. In 2004, he won first prize in the Poviedka (Short Story) competition for his prose work Absolútny sluch (Perfect Pitch). Since then he has published collections of short stories under the titles of Karol D. Horváth (2005), Karol D2 Horváth (2005) and Karol 3D Horváth (2006). He is a co-writer of a successful TV sitcom Mafstor. He is a member of the Živý dôkaz (Living Proof) literary circle. The social and subcultural phenomena of pop culture are typical themes in Horváth's stories. His "heroes" are under the controlling influence of fantasies and obsessions. Horváth can describe aspects of Slovak life in a few words in such a way that they take on a new and often spine-chilling or comic significance. He gives comic dimensions to simple, often banal, episodes and his narration shoots off in an unexpected direction or ends with an absurd conclusion. Horváth's mastery lies in a compressed plot, narrative brevity, and constant hovering on the brink of kitsch and slapstick.
Horváth never bores his reader and when it sometimes seems that he has exhausted his options, chimerical vision takes over and assures us that we simply do not understand the "rules of the game" and will never get the hang of the game itself.