Oskar Luts (1887–1953)

It is a bit eccentric to read this Estonian classic online in a facsimile of its original 1912 edition. If you are already a fan of “Kevade” (Spring) from one of the 20 or so reprint editions though, it is kind of fascinating to go back and see where it all began when Oskar Luts had to self-publish the first part of his “Tootsi lood” (Tales of Toots) because no publisher would accept it.

The story of "Kevade I" is quite self-contained as it goes from the start of the school year show more through to a picturesque Christmas with the main tension of the plot centring around the mystery of who among the Estonians sank the raft belonging to the rival school with its Germanic landowner sons. Young schoolboy Arno Tali struggles with issues of truth, friendship and first-love as he arrives at school to meet the prankster Joosep Toots (who became the charismatic focus of the later books), the snobbish Georg Adniel Kiir, the stolid Tõnisson and, of course, the later lost love of his youth Raja Teele.

The digital restoration by the Estonian Literary Museum online at http://kreutzwald.kirmus.ee/et/lisamaterjalid/ajatelje_materjalid?item_id=156&am... is immaculate and makes for an easy online reading experience, except for the fact that you have to get used to seeing the Germanic “w” used for the present day “v” throughout.
There are probably several differences with later published versions, but I especially noticed that the famous opening line of Chapter I was originally written as “Kui Arno isaga koolimajasse jõudis, olid tunnid juba peale hakanud.” (When Arno arrived at the schoolhouse with his father, the classes had already started.) The line later became ""Kui Arno isaga koolimajja jõudis, olid tunnid juba alanud” (same English meaning).
Another curiousity in the 1912 edition is that Chapter IX begins with “Joosep Tootsiga, sündinud aastal 1883, jäi asi niiwiisi…” (With Joosep Toots, born in the year 1883, things remained as they were…). Later editions drop the birth-year, presumably in an effort to not date the book too specifically, although it is obviously still taking place during a time when Estonia was part of the Russian Tsarist Empire.For instance, the snowball fight makes all sorts of references to the 1877-78 Russo-Turkish War with the schoolboys lining up on opposing Russian and Turkish sides with Joosep Toots playing General Mikhail Skobolev in the attack on the Grivitsa redoubt at the Battle of Pleven. show less

Most enjoyable Estonian children's book of 1912, set in a village school. The adventures focus on sensitive Arno, and his classmates, notably Toots with his endless escapades and Teele, a girl on whom Arno becomes increasingly fond... The kindly schoolmaster, the unpleasant churchwarden and the vodka-swilling sexton all come into the narrative, as do the pupils of a neighbouring school for the sons of German squires...
During the year that the story covers, we see the children grow up show more somewhat. Teenage melancholy, getting drunk and a moral dilemma are interspersed with some quite amusing episodes, courtesy of Toots: 'In Joosepp Toots there is a fierce battle going on between right and wrong. And, as is to be expected, wrong always comes out the winner.'
The characters were sufficiently strong that I really wanted to read the sequels that Luts wrote (sadly these don't seem to exist in English translation - indeed this novel was quite hard to come by in English). Lovely illustrations give it the finishing touch. show less

"Talve" (Winter) is a posthumous book that is the unofficial 5th and concluding volume to author Oskar Luts' (1887-1953) "Tootsi lood" (Tales of Toots) series. The first book "Kevade" (Spring) with its tales of childhood is one of the most popular Estonian books ever written (and also, the most popular Estonian film in its cinema adaptation).
"Talve" came to light in 1992 when the son of bibliophile Arnold Karu (1908-1991) brought its manuscript to the Oskar Luts Museum. The book was show more published in 1994 but many doubt its authenticity. Although Karu had supposedly received the original manuscript from Oskar Luts, nothing of it has survived. Instead there are two differing manuscripts which were supposedly Karu's attempts to produce a clean copy from Luts' original work.
Having read it now, it is very clear to me that the doubters are correct, as very little of the story-telling style of Luts is present in "Talve". There are some very long passages which go into enormous detail about the installation of primitive electrical systems on a farm, the building of pigsties, the proper planting and harvesting of grain etc. All of these digressions sound as if they have been copied from handbooks or textbooks and have very little to do with the through plot of the story which deals with an aged Arno Tali's (who as a child was the main protagonist of "Kevade") return home to his birth farm and the lives and romances of the next generation of Paunvere vicinity farm residents. All of the earlier older generation of Paunvere from "Kevade" days have passed on at this point and there are only a few very brief cameos by Joosep Toots and Raja Teele (the latter at least in a touching scene where she inherits Arno Tali's handwritten letters and papers).
There are a few passages that do seem as if Luts had a hand in writing them. One of these is a reminiscence of "Kevade" days with yet another antic that Joosep Toots performs on the hapless tailor's son Kiir. Whether it is by Luts or by Karu writing in the style of Luts, there is at least a glimmer of the old magic that can still be felt.
Overall however, this is quite a slog to get through with the actual plot being very thin. show less

Time and Luck. Thoughts and Dreams + Two Plays

The difficulty with assembling a collection of aphorisms and best bits from such a beloved Estonian writer such as Oskar Luts is that most everyone who has read him will have their own favourite moments and many of them will likely not appear in this collection. There are probably several dozen lines from the Tootsi lood (Tales of Toots) series of novels that are more recognizable and more quotable than some of the texts selected here. But there show more is some service done here as many of the non-Toots books are out of print so this does rescue some good bits. Also the comic theatrical farces "Kapsapea" (Cabbage Head) and "Valimised" (Elections) are reprinted in their entirety here, showing that the comic possibilities of portraying the corruption of avarice and power never goes out of style. show less