Soviet Milk
Will be published approx. on 1. March 2018
Book
Paperback/Softback
196 pages
978-1-908670-42-7 (ISBN)
Description
The literary bestseller that took the Baltics by storm now published for the first time in English.
This novel considers the effects of Soviet rule on a single individual. The central character in the story tries to follow her calling as a doctor. But then the state steps in. She is deprived first of her professional future, then of her identity and finally of her relationship with her daughter. Banished to a village in the Latvian countryside, her sense of isolation increases. Will she and her daughter be able to return to Riga when political change begins to stir?
'At first glance this novel depicts a troubled mother-daughter relationship set in the the Soviet-ruled Baltics between 1969 and 1989. Yet just beneath the surface lies something far more positive: the story of three generations of women, and the importance of a grandmother giving her granddaughter what her daughter is unable to provide - love, and the desire for life.' Meike Ziervogel, Peirene Press Publisher
This novel considers the effects of Soviet rule on a single individual. The central character in the story tries to follow her calling as a doctor. But then the state steps in. She is deprived first of her professional future, then of her identity and finally of her relationship with her daughter. Banished to a village in the Latvian countryside, her sense of isolation increases. Will she and her daughter be able to return to Riga when political change begins to stir?
'At first glance this novel depicts a troubled mother-daughter relationship set in the the Soviet-ruled Baltics between 1969 and 1989. Yet just beneath the surface lies something far more positive: the story of three generations of women, and the importance of a grandmother giving her granddaughter what her daughter is unable to provide - love, and the desire for life.' Meike Ziervogel, Peirene Press Publisher
Reviews / Votes
'Latvia is a country we have heard almost nothing about since its separation from the Soviet Union. Nora Ikstena is proving that Latvia is speaking in a bold and original voice.' ROSIE GOLDSMITH, JOURNALIST AND BROADCASTER.; 'Nora Ikstena's fiction opens up new paths not only for Latvian literature in English translation but for English literature itself.' JEREMY DAVIS, DALKEY ARCHIVE PRESS.More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 125 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
236 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-908670-42-7 (9781908670427)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Persons
Nora Ikstena (1969-2026) was born in Riga. She studied at the University of Latvia before moving to New York to study at Columbia. On her return to the Baltics she helped establish the Latvian Literature Centre. A prolific author of fiction, non-fiction, essays, and short stories, she is best known for her novel Soviet Milk, which won the Latvian Literature Award in 2015 and was nominated for both the EBRD Prize and the Republic of Consciousness Prize in 2019. An international bestseller, the novel has been translated into 30 languages and was adapted for cinema and theatre. Her honours include the Baltic Assembly Award and Latvia's Three Star Order.