Set in the First Czechoslovak Republic, A BOHEMIAN YOUTH is at once a wrenching and hilarious tale of its hero's emotional and sexual awakening and a social history of the first rank. It abounds in intimate detail not found in history books--the manners of a Slovak servant girl, the mores of the town's homosexual, the sounds of popular music, the way people eat in wartime. Playful sophistication with a central European flavor .