I Served the King of England
First edition
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| Author | Bohumil Hrabal |
|---|---|
| Original title | Obsluhoval jsem anglického krále |
| Translator | Paul Wilson |
| Country | Czechoslovakia |
| Language | Czech |
| Publisher | Jazzová sekce |
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Publication date
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1971 |
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Published in English
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1989 |
| Pages | 301 |
I Served the King of England (Czech: Obsluhoval jsem anglického krále) is a novel by the Czech writer Bohumil Hrabal. The story is set in Prague in the 1940s, during the Nazi occupation and early communism, and follows a young man who alternately gets into trouble and has successes. Hrabal wrote the book during a period of censorship in the early 70s. It began circulating in 1971, and was formally published in 1983. It was adapted into a 2006 film with the same title, directed by Jiří Menzel, a noted director of the Czech New Wave.
The novel is narrated in the first person and follows the life of Ditě (a name meaning "child" in Czech), an aspiring hotelier. He is rather short, which causes him to have an inferiority complex; he goes to great lengths to disguise this perceived flaw. At the beginning of the novel, Ditě is starting out as a busboy at the Golden Prague Hotel, which, despite its name, is located in the countryside. It is here that Ditě begins his fascination with both women and money, trends that will continue and develop throughout much of the novel. He begins spending his paychecks at the local brothel and enjoys decorating prostitutes' laps with flower petals. His disapproving boss eventually finds out about his habit and puts a stop to it.
The next hotel he works at is a grand estate, but it is almost always empty. In one satirical scene, however, the hotel receives a visit from the President of the country (presumed to be Tomáš Masaryk) and his French lover.
The next hotel Ditě works at is in Prague itself. Here, Ditě works as a waiter, honing his skills of perception under the watchful tutelage of the headwaiter. When the Emperor of Ethiopia comes to Czechoslovakia for a state visit, he dines at the hotel, and Ditě is awarded a special medal for his diligent service, an honor which he wears proudly many times throughout the novel. After the dinner, however, Ditě is accused of having stolen a golden spoon that went missing. Ashamed, he attempts to hang himself, but is saved at the last minute when the spoon is found.
Ditě's time at the hotel comes to an end after the beginning German occupation of Czechoslovakia. Ditě's girlfriend, Lise, is an ethnic German as well as an ardent Nazi supporter, and while he never sympathizes with her political beliefs, Ditě comes to resent the bad treatment that she receives at the hands of Czechs, including at the restaurant he works. After an altercation with his coworkers over this issue, he is fired.
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