Treading Air by Jaan Kross
Translated by Eric Dickens. Treading Air follows the life of Ullo Paerand through 30 years of violent political upheaval. Abandoned by his father as a child, he grows up to become an electoral assistant to the parliamentary office in Tallinn and it is in this position that Ullo witnesses first the Soviet and then the German occupation of Estonia. Forced out of his honest profession Ullo becomes involved with the Resistance but, when many Estonians flee the country, he chooses to remain. An interlude of a decade shows much has changed since the end of the War; Soviet influence is marked in the style of government and the manner of the people. The narrative unfolds in stories imparted to an unknown "author" by a 70-year-old Ullo. Just before the end, however, Kross introduces a teasing ambiguity: Ullo dies before he is able to answer the last question about his life.
A major Estonian novel by a great Estonian writerKross was born in 1920 and deported to Siberia in 1946. After his release in 1954 he translated classics and wrote poetry, and later started writing historical novels. Some indication of his international standing as a novelist is to be gained from the fact that for many years he has been listed as a Nobel candidate. Treading Air is historical fiction with a broad scope, encompassing the life and times of one Ullo Paerand as he grows up and witnesses the Soviet and German occupations of Estonia. You have to admire Random House for acquiring Harvill last year, and Harvill for publishing novels like this. Estonian fiction would not be well represented in Britain without the determination of the Harvill team.
KROSS was born in 1920. He studied law at the University of Tartu and taught law until his arrest and deportation, with countless other Estonians, to Siberia in 1946. He, on his release in 1954, returned to Tallinn and devoted himself to poetry and to translating the classics, including Shakespeare, Balzac and Stefan Zweig. Later, his interest in Estonia's chequered history made him turn his attention to the historical novel, and he established his reputation as one of Europe's outstanding practitioners of this genre. He is now generally regarded as an Estonian writer of world class.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781843430360 |
| ISBN 10 | 1843430363 |
| Title | Treading Air |
| Author | Jaan Kross |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Vintage Publishing |
| Year published | 2003-05-22 |
| Number of pages | 368 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |