What do You think about The Dark Arena (2001)?
Tento první román světoznámého prozaika se odehrává v poválečném Německu. Je to období norimberského procesu a okupačních zón, ale i doba nových možností pro poctivé i podnikavce bez skrupulí. Americký voják Walter Mosca se obohacuje obchodem na černém trhu. Válka udělala z tohoto 23letého mladíka drsného muže spoléhajícího jen na vlastní sílu. Jediným, na kom lpí, je něžná milující Hella, s níž má syna; když ji však tragicky ztrácí, nezadrží ho už nic na cestě násilí, na kterou se dal... Německá kritika označila Temnou arénu za nejlepší americký román o životě v poválečném Německu. Puzo v něm vykreslil události moderní historie i osudy hrdinů přesvědčivě a realisticky. Přeložil František Jungwirth.
—Michal Skrivan
This came as a pleasant surprise. I didn't go in expecting to like this book, and the first few pages didn't make an impression on me either, but as the book progressed, I actually grew to like it. Though I usually don't read stuff that are not a-thousand-things-happening-at-once stuff, this book was more that good enough to keep me in it's grip. I must say, Mario Puzo knows his business. More than the plot, it's the subtle way he narrates that makes it worth reading. I just may give his other novels a chance.
—Apps *ąþþℓεş щïŧɧ şþℓεεŋ ïş şҩųïşɧγ*
i read this one in the darkest days of my life, when i thought too much about my life, about what i'd lost and how i could... die without hurting anyone around me. i felt touched with this story of a soldier who couldn't again get in touch with his loved ones at homeland and that made him return to Germany to find the only one, his woman, who got all his trust during darkest days of the WWII. her love helped him go on with his life until the day she passed away. nothing left and worth to him since her death, even their own child. what he lost was not only his loved one, not only his family or his nation, but also his trust in life. at the end of the novel, he got lost, and tried to run away, cared nothing for what was next in his life, he left his baby to an old woman who got his wife's trust and got away. years later, when i read "a movable feast" by ernest hemingway, i started to think back about "the dark arena" and got to know more about those of the lost generation. life is so hard. this one is neccessary for one's life to know the truth about living and trusting. it's also my favourite book of all time in my own life.
—Aurore
