MY SEVEN LIVES – Jana Juráňová in conversation with Agneša Kalinová

(jointly translated from the Slovak Mojich sedem životov. Agneša Kalinová v rozhovore s Janou Juráňovou)

Purdue University Press, West Lafayette, Indiana, ISBN-13 9781612497228 (paperback), ISBN-13 1612497209 (hardback), October 2021.

“If you ever wondered why some Jews in Europe did not try to escape, or why some Holocaust survivors returned to the country that had persecuted them, or why residents of Soviet-bloc countries did not immediately defect when allowed to visit the West, Kalinová’s narrative will help you understand.” Kieran Williams, Times Literary Supplement, 17 December 2021

“Besides being a penetrating account of the peaks and valleys of 20th century history in Central Europe, the interview memoir My Seven Lives  allows for the possibility of relating to dramatic events and oversized personalities in a way that most books covering history simply aren’t capable of.” Michael Stein, BODY.Literature, 4 March 2022

“As detailed as any primary documents, personal as any memoir, this book is far more than the sum of its parts. In a conversation guided by Juráňová, and translated for English speakers by the Sherwoods, Agneša’s personal account of events helps tell the story of twentieth century Central Europe.” Benjamin Cunningham, Aspen Review, 13 July 2022

“Along with the structure provided by Jana Juráňová’s insightful but unobtrusive questions, the book benefits from the unique insight of the translator Júlia Sherwood, who lived through many of the key events herself.” Charles Sabatos, Bohemia (A Journal of History and Civilisation in East Central Europe), Munich, 62 (2022), 1

My Seven Lives, Julia Sherwood reads an excerpt on the YouTube channel Translators Aloud

The Seven Lives of Agneša Kalinová, Julia Sherwood writing about My Seven Lives for Visegrad Insight, 8/16

Link to buy here.

Read an excerpt here