History Literature / Saturnin

A humorist book by Czech writer Zdeněk Jirotka, published in 1942. Its titular character is [[TheJeeves a resourceful manservant]] with a hidden sense of adventure and a penchant for creating and subsequently solving tricky situations. Said to be inspired by Literature/JeevesAndWooster, the book is nonetheless its own thing and its characters have become archetypes in their own right in Czech popular culture. It is known for its subtle humor and hilariously absurd yet believable situations. In 2009, it was elected the most beloved book in the Czech Republic in a public poll run by the Czech TV [[note]]winning over such luminaries as ''Babička'' by Božena Němcová, ''Literature/TheGoodSoldierSvejk'', as well as ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', ''Literature/HarryPotter'' and ''Literature/{{Twilight}}''[[/note]].

* '''Doctor Vlach''', a family friend typified by biting but often long-winded commentaries on people's behaviour and a somewhat ruthless sense of humor.

* EpicFlail: Saturnin's rise to newspaper fame happened when he caught a thief in one of his previous employers' house and challenged the thief to a duel with hussite flails.

* LoveTriangle: The Narrator and Milouš for Miss Barbora. But, considering Milouš's behavior towards her, the competition was not that equal.

* WaxingLyrical: Used by Saturnin to a humorous effect when a remark in a completely unrelated situation triggers quoting a famous Czech poem.

* ShesGotLegs: Miss Barbora has the most attractive legs of any woman at the tennis court. The narrator describes them in fetishistic detail, while claiming that, being the gentleman that he is, he didn't look at them when he had the chance to.

-> '''The Narrator''', describing the aftermath of one of the many exciting events incited by Saturnin

A humorist book by Czech writer Zdeněk Jirotka, published in 1942. Its titular character is [[TheJeeves a resourceful manservant]] with a hidden sense of adventure and a penchant for creating and subsequently solving tricky situations. Said to be inspired by Literature/JeevesAndWooster, the book is nonetheless its own thing and its characters have become archetypes in their own right in Czech popular culture. It is known for its subtle humour and hilariously absurd yet believable situations. In 2009, it was elected the most beloved book in the Czech Republic in a public poll run by the Czech TV [[note]]winning over such luminaries as ''Babička'' by Božena Němcová, ''Literature/TheGoodSoldierSvejk'', as well as ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', ''Literature/HarryPotter'' and ''Literature/{{Twilight}}''[[/note]].

* '''Doctor Vlach''', a family friend typified by biting but often long-winded commentaries on people's behaviour and a somewhat ruthless sense of humour.

-->When I once asked him what should a sane person think of the event described in the newspaper cutting, he said it was hard to judge because these days no one was sane anymore. (...) Doctor Vlach spoke for five more quarters of an hour, and I no longer remember exactly what about. He ended by expressing an admiration for Pythagoras. I did not argue this belief with him, but regarding his claim that no one is sane anymore, I think Doctor Vlach should only speak for himself.

* LoveTriangle: The Narrator and Milouš for Miss Barbora. But, considering Milouš's behaviour towards her, the competition was not that equal.

* HurricaneOfAphorisms: Aunt Kateřina would no doubt be the TropeNamer if a Czech version of Wiki/TVTropes existed. Saturnin also employs this way of speaking - when he wants to alert the narrator to Aunt Kateřina's presence.

* TheJeeves: Saturnin, with a twist in that it's him causing most of the trouble.

* TrueNeutral: Saturnin, arguably

* True Neutral : Saturnin, arguably

* True Neutral: Saturnin, arguably

* AmbiguousTimePeriod: The book was written in 1943, so it would be logical to assume that it takes place in the middle of [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII WW2]]. However, it was originally written as an escapist fantasy for the author, to protect himself from the horrors of war. Therefore, it would probably not make much sense for it to take place at the same time, and it does seem to take place in a little First Republic-style time bubble with none of the hardships of wartime life. Except that a little mention of blackout did creep in at one point...

* AmbiguousTimePeriod: The book was written in 1943, so it would be logical to assume that it takes place in the middle of [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII WW2]]. However, it was originally written an an escapist fantasy for the author, to protect himself from the horrors of war. Therefore, it would probably not make much sense for it to take place at the same time.

* EverybodySmokes: Common sense, as the book takes place somewhere between 1920 and 1938

* StargazingScene: The narrator and his love interest Miss Barbora spend summer at his grandfather's beautiful villa. They watch stars together on the terrace, try to see a shooting star and are mostly silent. The narrator muses whether it was right when he decided not to try to kiss her. However, he has a very specific idea about their first kiss. He wants them to simply "kiss", not to "kiss her" or steal the kiss from her.

* WeddingBellsForSomeoneElse: The book ends with the nameless narrator nervously asking out his crush Miss Barbora. She doesn't make it easy for him, but she accepts and he's beyond happy. All previous chapters have a summary of the chapter, in the 'InWhichATropeIsDescribed' style. The very last chapter is very brief (One-Paragraph Chapter brief) and resembles just the summary. The narrator says he knows that every good story needs a satisfying ending and that there is no happy ending like a wedding. [[spoiler:Everyone expects it's him and the lovely Barbora. He's glad he will not disappoint his readers because his widowed aunt Katerina got married to a rich gentleman.]]

* AmbiguousTimePeriod: The book was written in 1943, so it would be logical to assume that it takes place in the middle of [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/UsefulNotes/WorldWarII WW2]]. However, it was originally written an an escapist fantasy for the author, to protect himself from the horrors of war. Therefore, it would probably not make much sense for it to take place at the same time.

* AmbiguousTimePeriod: The book was written in 1943, so it would be logical to assume that it takes place in the middle of World War II. However, it was originally written an an escapist fantasy for the author, to protect himself from the horrors of war. Therefore, it would probably not make much sense for it to take place at the same time.

-->When I once asked him what should a sane person think of the event described in the newspaper cutting, he said it was hard to judge because these days no one was sane anymore.... Doctor Vlach spoke for five more quarters of an hour, and I no longer remember exactly what about. He ended by expressing an admiration for Pythagoras. I did not argue this belief with him, but regarding his claim that no one is sane anymore, I think Doctor Vlach should only speak for himself.

A humorist book by Czech writer Zdeněk Jirotka, published in 1942. Its titular character is [[TheJeeves a resourceful manservant]] with a hidden sense of adventure and a penchant for creating and subsequently solving tricky situations. Said to be inspired by Literature/JeevesAndWooster, the book is nonetheless its own thing and its characters have become archetypes in their own right in Czech popular culture. It is known for its subtle humour and hilariously absurd yet believable situations. In 2009, it was elected the most beloved book in the Czech Republic in a public poll run by the Czech TV [[note]]winning over such luminaries as ''Babička'' by Božena Němcová, Literature/TheGoodSoldierSvejk, as well as Literature/TheLordOfTheRings, Literature/HarryPotter and Literature/{{Twilight}}[[/note]].

!!Saturnin provides examples of:

--->''When I once asked him what should a sane person think of the event described in the newspaper cutting, he said it was hard to judge because these days no one was sane anymore. ... Doctor Vlach spoke for five more quarters of an hour, and I no longer remember exactly what about. He ended by expressing an admiration for Pythagoras. I did not argue this belief with him, but regarding his claim that no one is sane anymore, I think Doctor Vlach should only speak for himself.''