Fabulous. I think maybe I have a thing for books where the narrator is clearly not thinking sensibly and kind of wanders around destroying their life.
Oops.
Anyway, this was kind of like Carnivore which was also fantastic and as for plot details it's mostly about this taxi driver and his messed up life and he's kind of crazy and a lot of stuff happens between him and other people because basically he's an outsider 'cause he doesn't understand people and what they do and why and it's fascinating.
Yep.

Na druhý a třetí čtení pořád úchylárna, ale dobrá. Po spíš pomalým a imaginativním začátku se to rozjede a Karneval začíná.

Moucha je taxikář a milovník knih. Obklopuje se jimi, a když je v té správné náladě, lehne si ke knihovně na koberec po otci a s napřaženým (metaforickým) kopím se vrhá do víru historických událostí a mezi postavy, které ze stránek vystupují. Po nocích projíždí městem a v jeho autě se vystřídá spousta postav mnohem skutečnějších, ale o to fantastičtějších a bizarnějších.

Svým způsobem fascinující mozaika složená z podivných setkání, historických a náboženských úvah a šílených událostí.

"So I drive a taxi, and the traffic distracts me
From the strangers in my backseat, they remind me of you"
(Cleopatra, The Lumineers)

This novel reminded me of these lyrics from The Lumineers's song Cleopatra where Cleopatra, after a life spent being late for everything truly important for her, spends her days driving a taxi. A woman who seems worn out, finds her peace in roaming the streets and talking to strangers in whom she notices those small details which remind her of something long lost.
The image of a taxi driver, always on the move, not constrained by anything or anyone, with his or her car as a faithful sidekick.



Fly, the protagonist of this novel, is a lonely character who, despite having a handful of important people in his life, has spent his entire life feeling like the other. Besides being an immigrant, he was born in a circus and that only reinforced the feeling of not fitting in the "normal" society.

Fly does something similar to Cleopatra: he "flies" around an unknown city. The only thing we know about it is the fact that a famous carnival takes place there. People whose faces and intentions appear to be hidden underneath masks and costumes. Not only masks and costumes characteristic of a carnival, but also those masks mundane people wear in order to hide themselves and to fit better in the masquarade we call life. Life seen and lived as a carnival where people perform their roles, sometimes to entertain, sometimes to induct fear, sometimes to provoke destiny, just to be remembered:

“People live their lives thinking that they are forgotten, and that is why we do the most outrageous things, so as not to go unnoticed”

Fly's intentions seem to be the complete opposite: he goes through life behaving in a rather neutral manner, as if he were an observer, a witness and sarcastically intelligent commentator of the events, people and beliefs. Apparently, he believes in nothing than in the law of nature which corresponds perfectly to the nickname he has appointed to himself. A fly - an insect usually despised by people which nevertheless finds its way through life, and is often found near garbage. Similarly, Fly has a lot to do with people from the lower pores of the society, the others: drug dealers, prostitutes, people rejected by the society and people who reject society and its imposed norms. Basically, he is in contact with this human carnival every day.

"Is there anything on earth or in heaven more potent than a good dose of mockery and laughter?"

Written in 5 acts, as if it were a modern day tragedy, this collection of experiences, a kaleidoscope of important episodes from Fly's life, retells the tragic comedy of our existence. Those who follow their ideals seem to finish crushed under a heavy boot of a society which lack the ability to understand and accept them and their ideas. In that sense, Otto really becomes a clown, assuming completely the role he performs when wearing a clown mask during his missions as a vigilante; a clown mocked by the society - similar to Shakespearean Fool - who decides that he will have the final word.

"“Violence and resistance are the only answer. Empire has to feel pain or it will never stop devouring you. It is only when a gun is put in a person’s face that anything changes. All empires are hungry cannibals...”

The novel finishes in the same tone it follows the adventures of our protagonist taxi driver: he flies into his future on another one of his magic carpets into a battle he is yet to discover. There is something magic-realism-like in the final mythical scene: Fly evolves into something higher, he is definitely far from being a fly, he is more of a phoenix buring up and being born for a new life.

Review of a Goodreads giveaway copy.

I put this off for a while. It looked like it might be a bit of a slog, an unusual narrator and story.

And yes, it was unusual. Fly, a city taxi driver narrates the story of his life as a paid driver, his own history, and some snippets from those of his customers and other drivers. We see more than we'd like to of Fly's fantasy life and of his incredible-sounding towers-of-books apartment.

He's a reader, a watcher, a smart man with a fascinating history and someone who seems all sorts in his taxi, from drug dealers to transvestites to rich Arabs.

It's not the easiest of reads, with the change in time period regularly, sections that talk about Fly's childhood in a circus, then to one that follows a friend then to Fy in the present.

That said, once you're open to a flitting narrative, it's quite quick to pick up the threads. It's a bit of a mix of Taxi Driver and Hotel Babylon, an insight into the life of a driver and of his many and varied passengers.

It's all set at the time of the city's month-long carnival, when normal conventions seem not to apply and the strange and unusual flock to the festivities.

There are sad parts, very funny parts and lots of intelligent conversations.

Not the most straightforward read but quite an unusual and enjoyable one. Wouldn't have picked this up ordinarily but glad I gave it a try.