Fu(*n*)k Bomb (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781804842201)

Prague, 1989. As the Communist regime begins to tremble, a young cultural functionary named Jiří is summoned to the office of President Gustáv Husák. The solution to the growing dissident threat? Funk.

Thus begins an audacious experiment: a state-sponsored funk band designed to win back the youth with irresistible rhythms and ideologically sound lyrics. What starts as a loyal mission soon spirals into chaos, as party infighting, artistic success, and political paranoia collide. Before long, Jiří and his band-Funky Leninz-find themselves branded dissidents while trying to preserve the very system that created them.

Blending grotesque humor with cultural insight, Fu(n)k Bomb is both a loving homage to funk-from James Brown and Parliament-Funkadelic to Prazský výběr and Plastic People of the Universe-and a brilliant commentary on the final absurdities of Communist power. Translated with verve by Charles S. Kraszewski, this novel is a riotous journey into music, history, and the strange ways systems collapse.