Born Nov. 19, 1924, in Prague. Czech author.
Otčenášek graduated from a trade school. During the fascist German occupation of Czechoslovakia he worked in a factory and took part in the resistance movement. His literary activity began after the war. His novels With Great Strides (1952) and Citizen Brych (1955; Russian translation, 1957) deal with the moral and social issues of the building of a socialist society. In the novel Lame Orpheus (1964; Russian translation, 1966) and the novella Romeo, Juliet and the Darkness (1958; Russian translation, 1960), Otčenášek reveals the hard lot of the generation which grew up during the period of fascism. He was awarded the K. Gottwald State Prize in 1956.
REFERENCESBernshtein, I., and E. Olonova. Sovremennyi cheshskii i slovatskii roman. Moscow, 1962.
Hájek, J. “Otčenášek.” In Literatura a žvot. Prague, 1955.