Silverwhite
The Journey to the Fallen Sun
Published on 15. May 2025
Book
Hardback
472 pages
978-1-80526-294-7 (ISBN)
Description
Foreword by Edward Lucas
Silverwhite is a captivating exploration of the eastern Baltic nations' earliest history and interactions with peoples of the Mediterranean and the Near East. This journey meticulously outlines an answer to the true whereabouts of Thule, the unearthly northernmost land of ancient legend.
Although Silverwhite is grounded in classical literature and extensive historical, astronomical and geographical fact, Lennart Meri--foremost a writer and filmmaker--weaves his travelogue with poeticism. Whereas a professional historian must show caution when using fantasy to patch gaps between facts, a poet is untethered. This epic work can also be read as a thriller: millennia ago, an enormous cosmic rock crashed into the Estonian island of Saaremaa. Through this extraordinary historical event, Meri brings together a curious cast including ancient Greeks, Arabs and Estonians. All genuinely existed and met, even if their names have been lost to oblivion.
When Meri wrote Silverwhite, Estonia was occupied; forced into the restrictions of Soviet Russian colonialism. His work was a balm against that closed-minded and unnatural state, offering the unmistakable message that the world has never been divided into isolated islands of civilisation. Nations, eternally interconnected, have always shared knowledge and impacted one another in complex ways. Openness is inherent.
Silverwhite is a captivating exploration of the eastern Baltic nations' earliest history and interactions with peoples of the Mediterranean and the Near East. This journey meticulously outlines an answer to the true whereabouts of Thule, the unearthly northernmost land of ancient legend.
Although Silverwhite is grounded in classical literature and extensive historical, astronomical and geographical fact, Lennart Meri--foremost a writer and filmmaker--weaves his travelogue with poeticism. Whereas a professional historian must show caution when using fantasy to patch gaps between facts, a poet is untethered. This epic work can also be read as a thriller: millennia ago, an enormous cosmic rock crashed into the Estonian island of Saaremaa. Through this extraordinary historical event, Meri brings together a curious cast including ancient Greeks, Arabs and Estonians. All genuinely existed and met, even if their names have been lost to oblivion.
When Meri wrote Silverwhite, Estonia was occupied; forced into the restrictions of Soviet Russian colonialism. His work was a balm against that closed-minded and unnatural state, offering the unmistakable message that the world has never been divided into isolated islands of civilisation. Nations, eternally interconnected, have always shared knowledge and impacted one another in complex ways. Openness is inherent.
Reviews / Votes
'In Silverwhite Lennart Meri moves along the thin line between history, myth and science, his extraordinary sensitivity oscillates between a deep knowledge of the classics, myths, folklore, geography and toponymy, linguistics and navigation, and an analytical capacity between the deductive and the speculative. The result is surprising intuitions supported by a deep and rigorous analysis.' -- <b>Antonello Biagini, historian of Eastern Europe, and former Vice-Rector for General Affairs, Sapienza University of Rome</b> 'Lennart Meri's magnificent travelogue of the North bridges ancient poetry with the distant past and exact sciences. Let modern readers enjoy these imaginary voyages with the same passion as those who first discovered them almost fifty years ago.? -- <b>Jueri Kivimaee, University of Toronto, and author of <I>Aspects of Daily Life in Medieval Estonia</I> and <I>Tallinn in Flames: Soviet Air-Raids on Tallinn, March 1944</I></b> 'Silverwhite is Lennart Meri's lyrical expression of the essence of Estonian identity and history--the inspiration for himself as the country's first post-Soviet President and for his country as it brilliantly asserts its right to exist in the most challenging of circumstances--escaping the constricting trammels of the Soviet mindset.' -- <b>The Rt Hon Charles Clarke, former MP, and editor of <I>Understanding the Baltic States</I></b>More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Dimensions
Height: 243 mm
Width: 172 mm
Thickness: 47 mm
Weight
877 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-80526-294-7 (9781805262947)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
05/2025
1st Edition
Hurst Publishers
from
€48.99
Available for download
Persons
Lennart Meri (1929-2006) was a traveller, writer and documentary filmmaker, and Estonian president from 1992 to 2001. His father being a diplomat, he was schooled in Paris and Berlin. When the Soviet Union occupied Estonia in 1940, his family was first imprisoned, then deported to Siberia; they survived against all odds, and returned after the Second World War. Meri strove relentlessly to articulate and defend Soviet-occupied Estonia's interests, and worked to restore the nation's sovereignty. His ten books and six ethnological films had an impact echoing across the Iron Curtain. On publication in 1976, Silverwhite quickly became a popular and central work of Estonian literature.
Adam Cullen (b. 1986) is a poet and translator of Estonian literature into English. His translation of Martin Algus's short story 'The Lion', adapted as a radio play and broadcast on BBC Radio 4, earned a special commendation for Prix Europa's 'Best European Radio Fiction of the Year' (2022), and won the BBC Audio Drama Award for Best European Drama. His translation of Kai Aareleid's novel Burning Cities was longlisted for the 2020 Dublin Literary Award. Originally from Minnesota, Cullen has lived in Estonia since 2007.
Adam Cullen (b. 1986) is a poet and translator of Estonian literature into English. His translation of Martin Algus's short story 'The Lion', adapted as a radio play and broadcast on BBC Radio 4, earned a special commendation for Prix Europa's 'Best European Radio Fiction of the Year' (2022), and won the BBC Audio Drama Award for Best European Drama. His translation of Kai Aareleid's novel Burning Cities was longlisted for the 2020 Dublin Literary Award. Originally from Minnesota, Cullen has lived in Estonia since 2007.