Denemarková, born in 1968 in the midst of the Prague Spring, has so far dealt in her work with dark and repressed sides of European history, such as the expulsion of Germans after 1945, anti-Semitism or violence against women. In her new novel, "Hours of Lead," she tells of the current state of Chinese society, of ruthless enrichment and repression, and of grave human rights violations to which the heroine, a Czech writer, is exposed through contacts with "the uneducable." "Hours of Lead" is a linguistic masterpiece that creates a surreal atmosphere and in it the horror of tragic human fates becomes all the more evident. The work was Book of the Year 2019 in the Czech Republic, was translated into more than 20 languages and caused a widespread sensation. The author was hit with a lifetime ban from entering China even before it was published. She is also an accomplished literary translator and has translated several books by Herta Müller and Michael Stavaric.