Dzīves stāsti

by Nora Ikstena

I have written Life Stories virtually in the space of one breath ?these stories have been imagined in such concentration, that I had to free myself from them. They came so naturally, that I am very happy to have returned to the short-story format. It seems to me that in these eight stories each individual and different life is so strikingly intense that it was not possible to place all into one novel ?Also in terms of style, I searched and found a different approach to each of the stories. I wanted to express myself more clearly and more simply. ?Nora Ikstena

Genres: Short Stories

118 pages

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Nora Ikstena (1969-2026) was a prose writer and essayist. Ikstena is considered one of the most visible and influential prose writers in Latvia, known for elaborate style and detailed approach to language. After obtaining a degree in Philology from the University of Latvia in 1992, she went on to study English literature at Columbia University. In her prose, Nora Ikstena often reflected on life, love, death and faith. Soviet Milk (2015, shortlisted for the Annual Literature Award for best prose), Besa (2012), Celebration of Life (1998), The Virgin's Lesson (2001) are some of her most widely appreciated novels.

The novel Amour Fou has been staged for theatre, and published in Russian (2010); other works have been translated into Lithuanian, Estonian, Georgian, Swedish, Danish, etc. Ikstena is also a prolific author of biographical fiction, non-fiction, scripts, essays, and collections of short prose. Her collection Life Stories (2004) was published in English in 2013, and Hindi in 2015. Her story Elza Kuga’s Old Age Dementia was included in the "Best European Fiction 2011" anthology.
Ikstena was an active participant in Latvia's cultural and political life, and a co-founder of the International Writers and Translators’ House in Ventspils. In 2006, she received the Baltic Assembly Prize in literature.

Reviews

[tu zini, kas es esmu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tāda ir mana literatūra. Ne visur vienlīdz nostrādāta un spēcīga, bet pārsvarā tomēr galvu atsitoša.

[Vita Beinerte · Rating 2 out of 5]

Remdeni. Spēle ar vārdiem, sižetiem bet trūkst dziļuma. Pēc "Baltā kleita" šie stāsti škiet vienmuļi.

[Ieva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nora Ikstena neliek vilties. Valoda ir nesalīdzināmi dzīvāka, teikumi piepildītāki un ar sajūtu nekā tulkotajās grāmatās. Bet varbūt tā vienkārši ir mana mīlestība pret mūsu valodu un mūsu autoriem? Un viena zvaigzne vien nost par to, ka pedejie divi stāsti mani neaizrāva.

[Ghilimei · Rating 1 out of 5]

I forced myself to finish reading this as part of my "Around the World in Books" challenge. I read it in English translation and did not enjoy it at all.

Trigger warnings: suicide, assault, terminal illness, lots and lots of death

Maybe it's me and I just can't handle these topics anymore, but reading a collection of short stories where 6 out of 8 deal with these topics feels like the author purposefully wanted to condense misery and misfortune into 122 pages. It was just too much. It might not have been too much if there was any elegance or style to the writing, but there was none. To me, it felt like the stories where school compositions of a student who is trying their hand at writing for the first time.

I must admit I got triggered by the first story, The Orange, I put down the book with a bad taste in my mouth but forced myself to pick it up again months later to give it another chance. I should have let it be.

I am a cancer survivor and the first story deals with a woman who thinks she might have cancer. She goes to the doctor for investigations, but while waiting for the results she becomes convinced that she has cancer and leaves her family to go kill herself in an abandoned manor across the river. Quite predictably, the doctor calls back after she dies with the news that she did not in fact have cancer, nor any other life threatening illness.
Naturally, I found the author's approach of this topic to be crude, childish and predictable.

[Alfia · Rating 5 out of 5]

These are beautiful, sometimes sad and disturbing stories from Nora Ikstena, a modern Latvian author writing about Latvia and Latvians in the period leading up to and after Latvia's independence from the Soviet Union. Most of the stories are about women coping with some challenge, be it mental illness, loss, caring for the sick, trying to fit in, old age, or just the complacency of one's own well-lived life. There is a moving ambivalence in some of these women who deeply experience the essential beauty of existence and yet accept, if not yearn for their own removal from it. Even when there is a rejection or loss of life, there is a hypnotic sensuality in its apprehension. The translation can be a bit bumpy at times but it doesn't detract from the exquisite imagery, compelling characters and plot lines drawn by Ikstena. I wish there were more available from her in English.

[Anete Beinarovica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ikstena likes to focus on human vices, usually kept behind closed doors, and put them on display, making her reader a little uncomfortable. "Life Stories" is no exception and each story is presented to us with a different human vice and tragedy in its center. Biggest criticism - the plot twists that lead to the aforementioned tragedies seemed quite predictble to me in most stories.

[Kaspars · Rating 2 out of 5]

Varbūt ne mans stils, varbūt vienkārši neuzrunāja stāsti, tomēr man šie stāsti likās vāji. It kā ir spēle ar vārdiem un sižetiem, tomēr stāstiem trūkst dziļums, un dažbrīd šķita, ka vārdi ir likti kopā apjoma pēc (jo dažbrīd nevarēju izsekot stāstam). Stāsti nedaudz atgādināja Janas Egles stāstu saturu, tomēr atšķirībā no J. Egles, Ikstenai šo "melno stāstu" sadaļu nav sanācis pacelt.

[Elina K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short stories that let you take a look into seprate lives. Some sweet, some sad and tragic moments. Overall really enjoyed it, as it made me fall into the characters life and feel for what they are going though.

[Kurkulis (Lililasa) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Manuprāt, daudz lirikas, maz sāls.

[Kaspars Zalāns · Rating 4 out of 5]

Manā skatījumā joprojām spēcīgākais, ko Nora Ikstena uzrakstījusi.

[trine! · Rating 5 out of 5]

“viņa nespēj stāties sakaros ar šo pasauli […] Un pašnāvības viņa taisa nemākulīgi. Iesācējam skaidrs - kaklsaitē pakārties ir grūti un no vecām baldriāna tabletēm koma neistāsies”

[Lauma Klintsone · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kā vienmēr ar stāstu krājumiem, ir lielas atšķirības tajā, kā es vērtētu vienu stāstu un kā - citu.
Tās visas bija mazas noskaņu ainiņas, ieskatīšanās dzīvēs. Bet visām cauri vijas tāds kā remdenums, pasteļtoņi, "tā reizēm notiek" izjūta - izjūta, ka tas nav nekas ārkārtējs, ka tas viss ir tepat blakus. Vietām šī izjūta palīdzēja, bet vietām tā man šķita mazliet drūma, pelēka, nomācoša, kā nolemtības, nevis pieņemšanas sajūta. Varbūt to vietu dēļ tā līdz galam neiepatikās, ka pasteļtoņu robežas starp esības vieglumu un nolemtības smagumu bija izplūdušas ne tur, kur man gribējās. Vai varbūt tāpēc, ka pāris stāstiem es līdz galam tomēr nenoticēju. Bet bija jauki, sen nebiju lasījusi šāda stila darbus.

[Daina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Izlasīju angļu valodas tulkojumā (M. Gailītis), kas nesen izdots Ziemeļamerikā. Stāsti mazliet smagi (daži vairāk kā citi), un vienam vai diviem atklāti sakot īsti neizsekoju. Bet domāju, ka tie labi parāda cik dzīve sarežģīta un bieži sāpīga.