Overview

During a boat trip on the Baltic, Jan Brokken chanced upon Pärnu harbour, on the Estonian coast of the Gulf of Riga. It was an unforgettable introduction to the Baltic lands: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, and the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad. The extraordinary light, the tranquil landscape, and the stories he heard there drew him back time and again. In Baltic Souls, Brokken connects the cultural richness and social diversity of the region over the past eight centuries with tales of personal tragedy and a first-hand account of his travels. A remarkable number of talented people have come from this relatively small, sparsely populated area, many of them Jewish in origin. Brokken looks at twenty of those who have left their mark on art and culture worldwide, from filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein and philosopher Hannah Arendt in the early decades of the twentieth century to figures of our own time including violinist Gidon Kremer, composer Arvo Pärt and dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov. Despite fame and success, their lives were overshadowed by sadness and loss. Many left their native countries to escape the Nazis or Communists, while others saw their families all but obliterated in the Second World War or in post-war ethnic cleansing. Brokken describes several lives marred by tyrannical fathers, a theme that holds a personal fascination for him, to judge from his earlier autobiographical books. Many prominent figures, burdened by the past, met a tragic end, like the writer Romain Gary and the painter Mark Rothko who both committed suicide. Brokken weaves together these and other heroic if less well known lives to tell the unsettling story of the Baltic region and its changing fortunes, describing how the different population groups have interfered with each other, taking on the role of oppressor or victim by turns. He is happy to go off on other tracks that lead to new discoveries, investigating, for example, the fate of several Baltic barons and their descendants; owners of vast estates who lorded it over the local population, they became pawns in the far greater power games played by Hitler and Stalin. Until the fall of the Soviet Union, the Baltic countries were part of the Socialist empire. Now that they have regained their independence, local Russians find themselves demoted to the status of second-class citizens. In this absorbing epic, Brokken empathises with these latest victims — they too have left their stamp on the Baltic soul.

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Reviews

‘A gem in its genre. Superbly written.’ * Le Figaro * ‘An absolute highlight of European literature. Bloody beautiful.’ * La Repubblica * ‘Jan Brokken portrays 27 Baltic souls: he really brings them to life by shining an intense and enchanting light upon them.’ * NRC Handelsblad * ‘A masterfully written, rousing account.’ * Jelle Brouwer in Kunststof Radio 1 * ‘The book begins as a journey. Soon that journey becomes a journey through history. And then — this is admirably cleverly done — it becomes a journey through the lives of celebrities and ordinary people, of men and women who have been taken in by history. A magisterial book.’ -- Bram Peper, former Dutch politician and mayor of Rotterdam ‘In his highly original book, Brokken travels through the torn history of the Baltic states through the lives of famous artistic families from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.’ * Trouw * ‘By chronicling the fate of generations of family members, he gives a face to people under successive communist dictatorships.’ * Vrij Nederland * ‘Baltic Souls made me dare to be proud of my country, language and culture, without falling into stupid nationalism. No book has given me a greater gift. I am deeply grateful to Jan Brokken.’ -- Andris Brinkmanis, lecturer at the Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti in Milan Praise for The Just: ‘If I had known Jan Zwartendijk’s story before, I would have had filmed that.’ -- Steven Spielberg Praise for The Just: ‘He [Zwartendijk] filled desperate lives with hope during a period of great darkness, and his actions will remain a beacon of decency and righteousness for generations to come.’ -- Bill Clinton Praise for The Just: ‘The Just documents a rescue operation to save Jews from the Holocaust in Nazi-occupied Lithuania … Deep dives into archives, and documented encounters with people who were involved in the operation, contribute to a strong narrative about ordinary people performing extraordinary deeds at great risk to their personal safety. The lives of some of the people who were saved are chronicled, as are the struggles of Zwartendijk’s family and friends to have him officially recognised for his work on behalf of Jewish people, an experience of which he was robbed during his own lifetime. In telling the life story of Jan Zwartendijk, The Just adds one more piece to the memory of the Holocaust.’ -- <em>Foreword Reviews</em>, starred review

‘A gem in its genre. Superbly written.’ * Le Figaro * ‘An absolute highlight of European literature. Bloody beautiful.’ * La Repubblica * ‘Jan Brokken portrays 27 Baltic souls: he really brings them to life by shining an intense and enchanting light upon them.’ * NRC Handelsblad * ‘A masterfully written, rousing account.’ * Jelle Brouwer in Kunststof Radio 1 * ‘The book begins as a journey. Soon that journey becomes a journey through history. And then — this is admirably cleverly done — it becomes a journey through the lives of celebrities and ordinary people, of men and women who have been taken in by history. A magisterial book.’ -- Bram Peper, former Dutch politician and mayor of Rotterdam ‘In his highly original book, Brokken travels through the torn history of the Baltic states through the lives of famous artistic families from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.’ * Trouw * ‘By chronicling the fate of generations of family members, he gives a face to people under successive communist dictatorships.’ * Vrij Nederland * ‘Baltic Souls made me dare to be proud of my country, language and culture, without falling into stupid nationalism. No book has given me a greater gift. I am deeply grateful to Jan Brokken.’ -- Andris Brinkmanis, lecturer at the Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti in Milan Praise for The Just: ‘If I had known Jan Zwartendijk’s story before, I would have had filmed that.’ -- Steven Spielberg Praise for The Just: ‘He [Zwartendijk] filled desperate lives with hope during a period of great darkness, and his actions will remain a beacon of decency and righteousness for generations to come.’ -- Bill Clinton Praise for The Just: ‘The Just documents a rescue operation to save Jews from the Holocaust in Nazi-occupied Lithuania … Deep dives into archives, and documented encounters with people who were involved in the operation, contribute to a strong narrative about ordinary people performing extraordinary deeds at great risk to their personal safety. The lives of some of the people who were saved are chronicled, as are the struggles of Zwartendijk’s family and friends to have him officially recognised for his work on behalf of Jewish people, an experience of which he was robbed during his own lifetime. In telling the life story of Jan Zwartendijk, The Just adds one more piece to the memory of the Holocaust.’ -- <em>Foreword Reviews</em>, starred review

Author Information

Jan Brokken is a writer of fiction, travel, and literary nonfiction. He gained international fame with The Rainbird, The Blind Passengers, My Little Madness, In the House of the Poet, The Reprisal, The Cossack Garden, and Baltic Souls, and his books have been translated into twenty languages. Brokken has won numerous prizes for his work, including the Golden Quill 2023 (a prize for his significant contribution to Dutch writing and culture) and the Bruce Chatwin Lifetime Achievement Award 2023 for his entire oeuvre. Four of his books have been made into movies; two are in production. David Doherty is based in Amsterdam, where he has been working as a Dutch-to-English translator for over twenty years. His literary work includes novels by award-winning authors Marente de Moor, Peter Terrin, and Alfred Birney. Summer Brother, his translation of Jaap Robben’s novel Zomervacht, won the 2021 Vondel Translation Prize and was longlisted for the International Booker Prize.

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