THE COWARDS

The Cowards (1958) is Josef Skvorecky's blackly comic tale of post-warpolitics that was immediately banned on publication. In 1945, inKostelec,Danny is playing saxophone for the best jazz band inCzechoslovakia. Their trumpeter has just got out of a concentration camp,their bass player is only allowed in the band since he owns the bass, andthe love of Danny's life is in love with somebody else. But Danny despairsmost about the bourgeoisie patriots in his town playing at revolution inthe face of the approaching Red Army - not least because it ruins theband's chance of any good gigs.