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Ivan Klima. Posledni stupen duvernosti Prague. Hynek. 1996. 483 pages. ISBN 80-85906-34-1.
In his latest novel, Posledni stupen duvernosti (The Last Degree of Confidentiality), Ivan Klima tries to solve the spiritual problems of faith and human existence. He has chosen an uncommon type of protagonist, a Protestant clergyman-uncommon in the sense that such people usually do not have mistresses or lose their faith in God, as is the case with Klima's Daniel Vedra. Well balanced and sure of himself at first, Daniel preaches and practices the gospel of love, but matters take a surprising turn when his message comes back to him in the form of a tempting, attractive woman. She may be craving for love, and even seeking it in church, although she is an unbeliever.
Klima's exposure of human frailty, as seen through Daniel, could provide an effective theme in a novel,...