He meets Lenka Silver, a Jewish woman with a mysterious past.

[5] Gleb Žekulin wrote that Lvíče "confirmed [Škvorecký] as the leading Czech prose writer of the post-Stalin era.

"[6] Mavis Gallant also admired Miss Silver's Past.

[7] Kirkus Reviews was scathing, saying "even the apparatchiks' wrangles over how and whether to publish a blockbuster novel are only mechanically amusing.

And, in Czech fashion, the byplay of seduction is used to underline the camaraderie of the seducers while the women remain objects, and nothing human ever takes place.