This Room is Impossible to Eat

Nicol Hochholczerová, who was born in 1999, grew up in Rimavská Sobota, Slovakia. In 2024, she completed a Master’s in graphic design at the Academy of Art in Banská Bystrica. Her short stories have garnered prizes in a number of literary competitions. Her book-length debut, Táto izba sa nedá zjesť (This Room Is Impossible to Eat) was shortlisted for Slovakia’s most prestigious literary prize, the Anasoft Litera Award, and has since been translated into Bulgarian, Czech, Hungarian, Serbian, Polish and Ukrainian, with German and Macedonian translations underway. A feature film based on the book is in production. In 2022, Hochholczerová was named Young Artist of the Year by the Tatra Banka Foundation. The Polish translation was nominated for the Angelus literary prize, awarded to living authors from Central Europe.

"Courageous... can be swallowed in one gulp" – Ivana Gibová"A surreal imagination" – Peter FL Jílek"Nicol Hochholczerová’s striking debut novel, This Room is Impossible to Eat is part fairy tale, part allegory, and one of the realest stories you’ll ever read. With effortless prose that is as beguiling as it is lucid, Hochholczerová captures the dynamics of abuse in a way that few novels, or even memoirs, accomplish" – Joshua Mensch, European Literature Network"An unmissable, brave new literary voice." – Gosia Buzzanca, Buzz Magazine"There’s an unsettling tension that runs throughout This Room Is Impossible to Eat that goes beyond its unsettling subject matter... This book left me both devastated and eager to read more" – Tobias Carroll, Words Without Borders