SOURCE: “An Interview with Josef Škvorecký,” in Review of Contemporary Fiction, Vol. 17, No. 1, Spring, 1997, pp. 82–91.

In the following interview, Škvorecký discusses his writing, the importance of language and dialogue in his work, and the difficulty in translating his novels.

[Solecki:] The Bride of Texas, appeared in Czech two years ago and in English last year. Could you tell us something about it?

[Škvorecký:] It's a historical novel, set during the American Civil War, and deals with a group of Czech soldiers serving in General Sherman's army in the campaign in Georgia and the Carolinas until the final victory at the Battle of Bentonville. As far as I know, and I did a great deal of research for the novel, this story about Czech-American soldiers has never been told. With the exception of one individual, all of the characters are real.

Why did you make an...