Baltic Souls
remarkable life stories from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania
$34.83
- Paperback
432 pages
- Release Date
1 October 2024
Summary
A monumental journey through Baltic history and culture, in which we encounter well-known personalities and forgotten ones, and a disconcerting picture of Europe in the twentieth century.
From 1999 to 2010, Jan Brokken explored life stories in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. The result was his masterly Baltic Souls, available here for the first time in English. Brokken uncovered the stories of famous artists and writers such as Mark Rothko, Sergei Eisenstein, Hannah Arendt, a…
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781922585837 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 1922585831 |
| Author: | Jan Brokken, David Doherty |
| Publisher: | Scribe Publications |
| Imprint: | Scribe Publications |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Number of Pages: | 432 |
| Release Date: | 1 October 2024 |
| Weight: | 566g |
| Dimensions: | 37mm x 154mm x 233mm |
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Critics Review
‘A gem in its genre. Superbly written.’
* Le Figaro *‘An absolute highlight of European literature. Bloody beautiful.’
* La Repubblica *‘Jan Brokken portrays 27 Baltic souls: he really brings them to life by shining an intense and enchanting light upon them.’
* NRC Handelsblad *‘A masterfully written, rousing account.’
* Jelle Brouwer in Kunststof Radio 1 *‘The book begins as a journey. Soon that journey becomes a journey through history. And then — this is admirably cleverly done — it becomes a journey through the lives of celebrities and ordinary people, of men and women who have been taken in by history. A magisterial book.’
– Bram Peper, former Dutch politician and mayor of Rotterdam‘In his highly original book, Brokken travels through the torn history of the Baltic states through the lives of famous artistic families from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.’
* Trouw *‘By chronicling the fate of generations of family members, he gives a face to people under successive communist dictatorships.’
* Vrij Nederland *‘Baltic Souls made me dare to be proud of my country, language and culture, without falling into stupid nationalism. No book has given me a greater gift. I am deeply grateful to Jan Brokken.’
– Andris Brinkmanis, lecturer at the Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti in MilanPraise for The Just:
‘If I had known Jan Zwartendijk’s story before, I would have had filmed that.’
– Steven SpielbergPraise for The Just:
‘He [Zwartendijk] filled desperate lives with hope during a period of great darkness, and his actions will remain a beacon of decency and righteousness for generations to come.’
– Bill ClintonPraise for The Just:
‘The Just documents a rescue operation to save Jews from the Holocaust in Nazi-occupied Lithuania … Deep dives into archives, and documented encounters with people who were involved in the operation, contribute to a strong narrative about ordinary people performing extraordinary deeds at great risk to their personal safety. The lives of some of the people who were saved are chronicled, as are the struggles of Zwartendijk’s family and friends to have him officially recognised for his work on behalf of Jewish people, an experience of which he was robbed during his own lifetime. In telling the life story of Jan Zwartendijk, The Just adds one more piece to the memory of the Holocaust.’
– Foreword Reviews, starred reviewJan Brokken
Jan Brokken (Author)
Jan Brokken is a writer of fiction, travel, and literary nonfiction. He gained international fame with The Rainbird, The Blind Passengers, My Little Madness, Baltic Souls, In the House of the Poet, The Reprisal, and The Cossack Garden, and his books have been translated into ten languages. The Just is his latest book.
David Doherty (Translator)
David Doherty studied English and literary linguistics in Glasgow before moving to Amsterdam, where he has been working as a translator for over twenty years. His literary work includes novels by award-winning authors Marente de Moor, Peter Terrin, and Alfred Birney. Summer Brother, his translation of Jaap Robben’s Zomervacht, won the 2021 Vondel Translation Prize and was longlisted for the 2021 International Booker Prize.
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