We Saw Better in the Dark | The Haiku Translator
A mother and daughter separated by exile.
Forty years ago, Milena’s parents left their homeland with their two young children in search of a better life in the United States.
Now, Milena and her brother live in Barcelona and haven’t seen their mother in years. Time and distance have strained their relationship. But when Milena receives a call from a hospital in Illinois, she doesn’t hesitate. Her mother, Jana—elderly, widowed, and hospitalized—wants to see her daughter again.
As Milena flies over the Atlantic, she reflects on her own life and that of her family. Her memories stretch across Prague, India, the United States, and Spain. She revisits her parents’ migration, their motives, and the lasting consequences.
The trauma of exile—of never truly belonging—becomes the invisible thread binding Milena and Jana.
When they finally reunite in the U.S., Milena will discover that the end of life can also be one of the most profound and beautiful times to share with a mother.
In The Haiku Translator, we learn more about Jana’s life: a childhood shaped by patriarchy and violence; Japanese language classes in Prague that led her to translate haikus; and the one-way journey she embarked on to escape the harsh reality of life in the former Czechoslovakia.
Now seventy-seven, widowed and estranged from her children, Jana struggles to find her place in a world that increasingly renders her invisible.
RELEVANT INFORMATION: Monika Zgustova is a Czech-born writer, journalist, and translator living in Barcelona. With autobiographical undertones, her novels We Saw Better in the Dark and The Haiku Translator explore identity, exile, solitude, and uprootedness. Through the story of a mother and daughter, Monika evokes the experience of generations who have built new homes far from their native lands.
Ideal for a character-driven audiovisual project, with strong, consistent, and complex female leads, both novels can be combined and adapted to different settings.
Zgustova’s work has been translated into ten languages and received both critical acclaim and commercial success. She is the recipient of the Amat-Piniella Prize, the Cálamo Prize, the Ciutat de Barcelona Prize, and the Mercè Rodoreda Prize, among others.
What the critics say:
“A novel so intense it reads like a true story.” — Todo Literatura
“Unusual, singular, and deeply cosmopolitan.” — Política & Prosa
“Monika Zgustova’s new novel is a literary reinterpretation of the painful themes of family and exile, set against the backdrop of 20th-century history, written in a refined, nostalgic, crystalline style. This is an exceptional novel about tenderness and courage in difficult times.” — Radka Denemarková
AUDIOVISUAL POTENTIAL: TV Series, Miniseries, Film, TV Movie.
AVAILABLE LANGUAGES: Spanish, Catalan, Czech, and (soon) English.
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