Playing Wolf

Ríhová makes her English-language debut with a devilishly creepy work of folk horror set in rural Czechia. Bohumil and Bohumila move from present-day Prague to Podlesí with their developmentally disabled 12-year-old son, expecting a charming retreat and a chance to start fresh. Instead, they find themselves in a cold, dark home surrounded by shifty neighbors. For years, they have grappled with their son’s undiagnosed condition, which has driven a wedge between them. When they arrive in Podlesí, Bohumila is bandaged and stitched, and she scratches at her unspecified wounds incessantly. Meanwhile, Bohumil drinks heavily to cope with insomnia. Alone one night at the pub, Bohumila imagines the local hunters and farmers are viewing her as prey, fueling the fear she shares with her husband that the townsfolk are out to get them. One morning soon after, the point of view switches to that of Sláva, the game warden, who takes the couple’s boy on a fox hunt and reimagines “Little Red Riding Hood” with Bohumila as the girl and himself as the wolf. The author effectively builds tension from the couple’s fears, which are heightened by physical threats, as when Bohumil finds a large paw print outside their home, as well as by their failure to find comfort in each other. It’s a hair-raising tale of a culture clash. (Sept.)