This website (a Lithuanian Encyclopedia Britannica, of sorts) claims that “Skomantas” is a series of books, rather than an author. Not much, but I did discover a set of 5 novels called the Tales from the Baltic series, published in English, by a mysteriously mononymic Lithuanian author, “Skomantas.” It would appear that Skomantas is not a real author’s name, but potentially a pseudonym for a number of authors writing historical Lithuanian adventures for young adults. So I wanted to know what other fantastical fictions might have come out of the Baltic and be available in English. Few novels do what Kivirähk’s does by blending a little-told period and place in history with magical elements, critique of major ideological institutions (the Catholic church, Westernization, colonization), and sheer inventiveness (there are scenes of men hibernating through the winter in snake dens, ancient Neanderthals living into the Middle Ages and training giant fleas for fun, and a man who survives out of pure spite for his enemies by turning into a snake after his limbs are lopped off). I recently read Estonian author Andrus Kivirähk’s The Man Who Spoke Snakish (2015), a historical fantasy novel based on pre-Christian folkloric traditions of Estonia, with no doubt a touch of authorial invention. my review of Latvian author Nora Ikstena’s Soviet Milk ). In the past, I’ve jumped when given the chance to read Baltic fiction (e.g. In fact, the Baltics have long been a “mystery” in the European world, like Albania: close to the major centers of power, and yet largely unknown outside of their people’s borders. Baltic fiction-literature from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania-is not incredibly common in English translation.
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