SOURCE: Hustvedt, Siri. “Magic Kingdom: Bohumil Hrabal's Dreamlike Realism.” Village Voice 42, no. 22 (3 June 1997): S30.

In the following review, Hustvedt provides a positive assessment of I Served the King of England, suggesting that it is Hrabal's best novel.

Bohumil Hrabal's I Served the King of England is not truly a forgotten book. It has been translated into many languages from its original Czech, including English, and was highly praised upon publication. And yet, traveling around this country last fall performing that grueling ritual known as the book tour, I discovered that the name of this wonderful writer meant nothing to the people in the bookstores where I read. In this sense, Hrabal must qualify as a writer who is not appreciated enough in the United States, and I Served the King of England (published in this country by Harcourt Brace) is his best book, a masterpiece of humor and...