Friedebert Tuglas (1886–1971)

Estonian writer (1886-1971). A selection of five stories. Unlike anyone I think I’ve ever read. The first story was, I think, an early work and could have been omitted. But the stories grew on me enormously. Wonderful stuff. One of his most famous stories, “Popi and Huhuu” is written from the pet dog’s perspective (Huhuu is the bird). The owner leaves for the day and never returns: a chilling and very sad story. The last one (“The Last Greeting”) is a long story written in 1941 show more that calls to mind Cormac McCarthy’s The Road: a survivor of the Fourth World War (in the clearly not too distant future) lives alone among the ruins near Naples. Introspective, thoughtful, fascinating. One of the best short stories I’ve read in a long while. show less

Lugesin sellest raamatust nelja novelli: "Inimese vari", "Popi ja Huhuu", "Toomehelbed" ja "Suveöö armastus". Kõige meeldejäävam oli "Inimese vari", mis sidus endas sõjakoledused, ühe ema tundeelu ja traagilise lõpu. Peateemaks oli lugu naisest, kes oli oma ainsa poja sõtta saatnud. Kui sõda sai läbi, öeldi talle, et poeg on laatsaretist vaba ja teel koju. Kord sõitis ta oma venega jõel ja kuulis ebainimlikke hääli. Leidis mehe, keda pidas oma pojaks. Ta hoolitses mehe eest, show more kuid see suri ja naine taipas lõpuks, et oli hoolitsenud oma poja mõrvari eest. Selline ootamatu lõpp ja novellis olevad ülevoolavad tundekirjeldused avaldasid suurt mõju. See novell oli minu meelest parem, kui teised kolm. Näiteks Popi ja Huhuu oma sõgeduses ja segaduses ja kaosearmastuses tekitasid minus vastakaid tundeid. Seda novelli lugedes tahtsin raamatud korduval käest panna, sest jutt oli minu jaoks sisutühi, kuid siiski soovisin teada, mida toob lõpp. Ühesõnaga, selles kogumikus võib olla novelle igale maitsele. show less

Tuglase novellid olid minu arust huvitavad. Ta käsitles palju sümboolikat ning igas novellis oli mingisugune tagamõte. Eriti meeldis mulle "Popi ja Uhhuu". Kui selle loo üle sai pikemalt arutletud, tundus loo tagamõte palju sügavam olema. Tema novellid olid salapärased , kuid samas väga loogilised. Mulle meeldis lugeda tema novelle, sest need läksid kiiresti, kuid samas polnud väga lühikesed.

I probably picked up this book at a rummage sale. It isn't until now that I've even investigated what it is. Previously, I just enjoyed the primarily expressionist and cubist art that illustrates this rather small work. The work itself is a centenary celebration of Estonian writer Friedebert Tuglas' birth. It is a translation of his "novelette," Riders in the Sky,originally published in 1917. According to wikipedia, Tuglas was responsible for introducing "Impressionism and Symbolism to show more Estonian literature." By inspection, the illustrations for this book are more cubist and expressionist than impressionist. One of the illustrators is firmly in the symbolist camp.

The four languages in this publication are, in the order they appear in the book:

Estonian - Taevased ratsanikud
Russian - Nebesnye vsadniki
English - Riders in the sky
Finnish - Taivaan ratsastajat

Though called a "novelette" in the English translation, this is definitely a short story, taking up a mere 13 pages of print. The English translation tells a tale of Bova, a poor boy living on the streets. Bova ends up killing "The Turk" and taking his gold in order to buy that delicious smelling sausage. It's the sort of Eastern European Kafkaesque social realism confusion that would make a good art house movie. In the end, Bova gets his come uppance in his dog-eat-dog world. Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment did it longer and better, methinks.

Nonetheless, an interesting read. show less