Mezi propastí a nebem

This specialized monograph by Dora Poláková is a well-rounded contribution for Hispanic studies in the Czech Republic in which she presents an interpretation, which is both erudite and open to wide cultural contexts, of this work (in particular the stories) of Nicaraguan writer Rubén Darío, one of the key personalities of Hispanic-American modernism. Before the scholar begins to concentrate on the central theme of the book, she outlines the character of the entire cultural epoch at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, which provided Darío an environment for the formation of his life, thinking and literary struggles; she uses an interesting approach to tie these biographical passages into the fin de siècle. The theme of modernism and the author’s style will undoubtedly capture the interest of more readers than those already initiated in Hispanic studies.