When I bought this book and all the reviews I’ve seen have said it’s a funny little book, as in mildly amusing, however in some ways I found it to be quite bleak.
On face value its the story of Kaspar Utz, who lives in Prague and who is consumed by collecting figurines and living a quiet life under the communist system. Utz is painted as a prisoner to his dolls whilst living under a totalitarian regime, so when he leaves on his annual sabbatical to Vichy in France, he finds capitalist life not to his liking, even though he has an alleged fortune in Swiss banks enabling him to enjoy a nice standard of living abroad, he misses his figurines and wants to return back home.

But really, that isn’t him, he was a state collaborator acting on small tasks when he was abroad and he enjoyed living under the Soviet system as he was in his mind king of the jungle there. This is highlighted by the way he keeps his figurines, that only he can enjoy them, not the state, and that in an era where drabness is the norm, he can stand out from the crowd and lure partners with his goods brought overseas and obtained locally on the black market. Adding to his non-enjoyment of the West is that he doesn’t have a desirability factor, so he is sexually rebuffed there.
This is not a story of Soviet oppression, rather its a story of accepting your environment and making the best of it there. As your environment changes, say through age, you adapt to new priorities, and you destroy what was important before to succeed in the new environment.

The book is beautifully written,.
Overall:
According to the book, who would win the cold war: A draw, the Czechs want self determination of their state, but the Soviet yoke is too strong
Explosives/fight scenes etc.. : Nil
Believability of the goodies: N/A
Believability of the baddies: N/A