Laura Sintija Cerniauskaite – DaneCobain.com

EUPL – Nine Prize Winning Authors from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania | Review

Title: Nine Prize Winning Authors from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania

Author: EUPL

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 164

Rating: 3.5/5

EUPL – Nine Prize Winning Authors from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania

This collection brings together nine different authors from The Baltics including a few Latvian authors that I heard about during my visit to the country. On top of that, I’d already read Breathing into Marble by Laura Sintija Cerniauskaite, a Lithuanian author, and so at least part of this was a re-read for me.

The only real problem with this book is from the format itself, because it only contains excerpts of longer works. That said, it’s made me want to look into some more of them, including Doom ’94 by Janis Jonevs, who I was lucky enough to meet in Riga.

I also liked that each of the stories was accompanied by the initial, untranslated text of the excerpt. It was fascinating to see the languages differing from English and each other.

EUPL

Click here to buy Nine Prize Winning Authors from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Laura Sintija Cerniauskaite – Breathing Into Marble | Review

Title: Breathing Into Marble

Author: Laura Sintija Cerniauskaite

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 188

Rating: 4*/5

Laura Sintija Cerniauskaite – Breathing Into Marble

Disclaimer: While I aim to be unbiased, I received a copy of this for free to review.

This book is different to almost anything else you’re likely to find. It’s a beautifully told piece of literary fiction that features a twist on the “boy meets girl” tale by subverting it into a “boy meets mum” story about an adopted kid with some mental health issues.

Translated into English from Lithuanian, the language in which the original piece was a bestseller, it’s almost like a modern day revival of Hemingway and Graham Greene, or even Burroughs or Kerouac.

Just as it is, it’s a very good book. But it’s made more impressive by the way that it translates so easily – the story itself could take place almost anywhere, and that alone makes it relatable. That’s boosted by the beauty of the language and the little thoughts that Laura’s characters have. It’s full of little observations that leave you nodding your head and smiling, and it’s also entertaining.