Ballek’s first books focus on young people, unable to give into conventional reality. In the next period, he switches to positive philosophical solutions, drawing inspiration from southern Slovakia where he was born. This is obvious in his book Južná pošta (South Mail, 1974) and in the novel Pomocník (The Helper, 1977) set against the backfrop of the end of WWII. The novel Agáta (Agatha, 1981) continues in the same tone. Some critics cite the latter books as two of the artistically most courageous books of modern Slovak fiction.
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