Joseph Hurka

Fields of Light

A son remembers his father—an unsung Czech anti-Communist resistance fighter—in this powerfully moving memoir, winner of Pushcart’s 19th Annual Editors’ Book Award, nominated by Andre Dubus.

After the fall of Communism, Joseph Hurka traveled to Prague, where his father had fought in the Underground against the Czech-Stalinist government. As the son walks in his father’s footsteps, he uncovers a hidden past: he learns of his father’s brutal imprisonment, his fortunate release, and his fierce resistance work. This book is also a story of modern Prague and the Czech Republic after the Velvet Revolution. Hurka takes us with him into the heart of Prague, the "Old Town" quarter where Kafka lived, and the lesser-known streets where his father fought for democracy.

Fields of Light is finally a loving tribute to a father, a meditation on the relationship between truth and resistance, a tale of personal sacrifice and endurance—and of history reborn after extraordinary totalitarian efforts to erase it. 16 b/w photographs.

"An enduring love song from a son to his heroic father. Immensely moving."—Andre Dubus