Kolme katku vahel IV

Balthasar Russowi romaan #4

by Jaan Kross

The third part in an epic historical trilogy - The Estonian answer to Wolf Hall - by the nation's greatest modern writer

1578. A ship from Rostock arrives in Tallinn loaded with printed copies of Balthasar Russow's Chronicle - the culmination of our hero's life's work. But though it is an instant success, as it was in Rostock and numerous German cities, not everyone is happy to see it published. A group of local gentry denounce it to the town council as "a book of heinous falsehoods", and lobby for Balthasar to relieved as pastor of Holy Ghost Church.

But all is not lost. Balthasar may call on a powerful ally - if he is willing to pay the price.

In this final volume, fierce storms, along with famine, war and plague, continue to be loosed upon Livonia. Balthasar's personal life, too, is fraught with turbulence and loss, much of it stemming from his own jealousy and suspicion.

Genres: Historical Fiction

431 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

Jaan Kross (1920 – 2007) was an Estonian writer. He has been tipped for the Nobel Prize for Literature on several occasions for his novels, but did in fact start his literary career as a poet and translator of poetry. On his return from the labour camps and internal exile in Russia, where he spent the years 1946-1954 as a political prisoner, Kross renewed Estonian poetry, giving it new directions.

Kross began writing prose in the latter half of the 1960s, first with a film scenario "A Livonian Chronicle" (Liivimaa kroonika) which dealt with the life of the author Balthasar Russow (1536-1600) and which also became the subject of his first masterpiece "Between Three Plagues" (Kolme katku vahel, 1970), a suit of four novels. From that time onwards Kross moved by stage nearer to our present time in history, describing figures from Estonian history, first in short stories and novellæ, later in novels, also in writings where he has drawn upon his own experiences. The heroes of his novels tend to be of Estonian or Baltic German origin and cultured people, though on the margins of society and are usually faced with a moral dilemma of some sort.

Reviews

[Kristjan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kui Sinu kogemus Balthasar Russowiga jääb "Tujurikkuja" sketši juurde ("Ma mõtlesin, et ma olen nüüd Balthasarile kaussi pannud!"), siis lisab Jaan Krossi "Kolme katku vahel" sellele mitme meetri paksuse intellektuaalse kihi peale. Hea küll, palju kirja pandut on kirjaniku väljamõeldis, kuid tegevus toimub päriselt ajaloos aset leidnud sündmuste taustal.

Samuti tekitab Kross oma miljöö, tegelaste, tunnete ja ajastu kirjeldustega kohalolekutunde, mis viib lugeja pimedasse keskaega, kus Musta Katku kõrval ohustas inimelu turvatunde puudumine ja kõige olulisemana sisemine dilemma oma elu valikute üle.

Mulle meeldib raamatuid lugeda pilguga, mis otsib ridade vahelt seoseid kaasajaga. Neid on selles teoses palju. Kadakasakslus ei pärine mitte üle-eelmisest, eelmisest või sellest sajandist, vaid oli omane ka keskajale. Põhimõte "Kes maksab, see tellib muusika" kehtib samuti juba pikemat aega - kui Russowi kroonikakirjutamise propagandaks pööramise soovi võib selle põhimõtte näiteks pidada.

Samamoodi ajatud on inimsuhted. Inimene võib ju sotsiaalne olend olla, kuid introvertne loomus, mis paljudele hingedele külge kinnitatud on, ei lase sellel sotsiaalsusel avalduda. Minu lemmiktegelane oli Märten, kes olemuselt jättis väga introvertse mulje, sest töö vajab tegemist ja elu elamist. Kui aga oli vaja öelda või teha, olid tagajärjed väga konkreetsed.

Kokkuvõttes nautisin teose kihilisust väga. Väide, et romaani tuhande lehekülje kirjutamiseks kulus sama palju päevi tundub keelekasutust vaadates usutavana. Loodaks, et paljud teoses kasutatud hunnitud sõnad leiavad kasutust ka minu sõnavaras, ilma et need mõjuksid kunnatuna.

[Hettie · Rating 5 out of 5]

That's the last book of Jaan Kross' "Between Three Plagues." It took me a while to find all four parts (and it was very confusing to learn that there are actually four books, but parts two and three come as one book), but anyway, I finally turned the last page. I am as sad finishing this epic as my kids used to feel finishing the newest Harry Potter book, since for such a long time, Baltazar Russow was my companion. Each time I came to Tallinn, and it happened several times during my reading, I wanted to walk the streets that were mentioned in the book, stay by the building, and try to imagine events that happened over 400 years ago. My last trip, just over a month ago, was especially memorable since we stayed in a hotel with a mid-16th-century ceiling painted with some lively scenes, and I imagined that Baltazar could see this exact ceiling. It was also the first time I went inside the Holy Spirit Cathedral and saw the Baltazar Russow memorial plaque.

Having my connections to Finland and Estonia, it's one of the most important books I've read. I think that only now do I fully understand the centuries of struggle of the people of Estonia and appreciate the entire complexity of it, as well as Estonia's relationships with other neighboring (or non-neighboring) countries. I feel ashamed of not being informed for such a long time, and having mostly the "touristy" perspective of the country.

Another important aspect of this epic is Baltazar's continuous reflection on the role of a historian, his responsibility for preserving the truth about his people, and at the same time, making sure that his work can be published, and all these never-ending compromises which, in the end, make him call his chronicles "a book of falsehoods," while it still remains the most complete historical evidence of that period.

And finally, as I already mentioned while I reviewed the previous volumes, this is the most "lively" historical novel I ever read. I so loved the feeling of being there, witnessing everything that was happening. I read page after page, and I could smell coals on the snow-covered streets of Tallinn and the sweat of people packed in a tavern after a day of hard work. I could hear the neighing horses and screaming kids. I could feel the cold, wet November snow, and the warmth of moss in the summer forest. People, their feelings and their thoughts, their hesitations, love and betrayal - everything is so real!

I knew that Balthasar Russow was a real person, but reading the book made him even more real for me than many of my contemporaries. As if I were actually there.

We know very little about him, so everything except for his three wives is fictional. But I still want to believe that Epp was a real person, and that he saw her before his death. And the only thing that saddens me about the end of this book is that his last thought was about feeling guilty of being happy sometimes. How can anyone feel guilty of being happy? I guess I can think that Jaan Kross imagined it. But just that! :)