Waiting for the Dark, Waiting for the Light — Ivan Klima

A New York Times Notable Book: A Czech filmmaker survives Communism with dreams of artistic freedom in this “darkly powerful novel” (Publishers Weekly, starred review).

Pavel Fukova was once a promising, award-winning documentary filmmaker. But when his homeland is overtaken by a Communist regime, he is forced to survive by working as a cameraman for the state-run television station. Now middle-aged, he dreams of one day making a film -- a searing portrait of his times that the authorities would never allow.

When the communist regime collapses, Pavel is unprepared for the new world of supposedly unlimited freedom -- and unable to make the film he has always wanted to make. Waiting for the Dark, Waiting for the Light is a powerful, important novel about the struggle between the ideal and the temptations of freedom.

A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year