Lásko
Freehand Books, September 2023
When Mája was seven, her mother disappeared. Now Mája has an urge to do the same. She leaves her fiancé in Canada and follows signs that lead her to the Czech Republic, her mother’s home country.
In Prague, she falls in love with Kuba, a charismatic musician who is a rising star in Czech New Age circles. As she navigates this irresistible and overwhelming relationship, Mája is guided by dreams, visions, and synchronicities, but she also suffers from a mysterious illness and the unshakeable sense that something is terribly wrong.
Revealing both the falseness and truth of the stories we tell ourselves, Catherine Cooper’s novel is sharply observed, darkly funny, and ultimately moving—a profound meditation on the pain and potency of love.
“Extraordinary—and totally engrossing. Lásko is at once an intimate tale of personal awakening, a love story, and a provocative parable about the lures and dangers of influence.”
-Johanna Skibsrud, Island
“Compelling, funny, insightful. Lásko is populated with a fascinating cast of characters who are, by turn, deeply compassionate, frustrating, predatory, and above all vibrating with life. A unique and delicately constructed love story.”
-Sarah Faber, All Is Beauty Now