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Between Three Plagues: The Story of Balthasar Russow #2
A People without a Past
The second part in an epic historical trilogy - The Estonian answer to Wolf Hall - by the nation's greatest modern writer
The year is 1563, and by any account Balthasar Russow can be said to have risen in the world. Fresh from his studies in the German town of Stetten, he has assumed the role as pastor of Tallinn's Holy Ghost Church. Moreover, he is betrothed to a maiden of the town - much to the chagrin of her father, who has no wish to welcome peasant stock to the family when there is no shortage of upstanding young German men - and is poised to begin the chronicle that will ensure his everlasting fame.
But tribulations still await the now not-quite-young Pastor - Livonia is still plagued by foreign powers, with Tallinn braced to withstand a prolonged Muscovite siege. And he will discover that marriage is a often a battlefield in itself.
Translated from the Estonian by Merike Beecher
The year is 1563, and by any account Balthasar Russow can be said to have risen in the world. Fresh from his studies in the German town of Stetten, he has assumed the role as pastor of Tallinn's Holy Ghost Church. Moreover, he is betrothed to a maiden of the town - much to the chagrin of her father, who has no wish to welcome peasant stock to the family when there is no shortage of upstanding young German men - and is poised to begin the chronicle that will ensure his everlasting fame.
But tribulations still await the now not-quite-young Pastor - Livonia is still plagued by foreign powers, with Tallinn braced to withstand a prolonged Muscovite siege. And he will discover that marriage is a often a battlefield in itself.
Translated from the Estonian by Merike Beecher
- GenresHistorical Fiction
432 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1977
13 people are currently reading
106 people want to read
About the author
Jaan Kross
101 books80 followersJaan 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 24, 2018
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.
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.
December 20, 2025
Second part of the trilogy.
Balthasar Russow is now a priest in Tallinn, and has started work on his chronicle, while the Livonian war rumbles on, and Tallinn is besieged several times. As a historian, it is of course very satisfying to have a historian as the main character. And having just read Russow's chronicle, it is enjoyable to see how Kross directly quotes the chronicle and describes how it might have been put together.
The comparison with Wolf Hall is understandable, (although obviously this isn't an "answer" to Wolf Hall - it's much older!), but one difference is that much less is known about the historical Russow, and so Kross has more freedom to construct his characters. Although I liked the first book a lot, it had a bit of Forrest Gump-syndrome at times, in that Balthasar pretty randomly became involved in so many important events. In the second book it works better, as Balthasar now has a prominent position and a reason to be involved.
There are plenty of dramatic events, but they are not Kross' focus - this is not an action book. What impresses is the construction of the world, the moods, the relations. It's a world I enjoy sitting down in a chair and visiting, and I'm glad I still have one more book to go.
Balthasar Russow is now a priest in Tallinn, and has started work on his chronicle, while the Livonian war rumbles on, and Tallinn is besieged several times. As a historian, it is of course very satisfying to have a historian as the main character. And having just read Russow's chronicle, it is enjoyable to see how Kross directly quotes the chronicle and describes how it might have been put together.
The comparison with Wolf Hall is understandable, (although obviously this isn't an "answer" to Wolf Hall - it's much older!), but one difference is that much less is known about the historical Russow, and so Kross has more freedom to construct his characters. Although I liked the first book a lot, it had a bit of Forrest Gump-syndrome at times, in that Balthasar pretty randomly became involved in so many important events. In the second book it works better, as Balthasar now has a prominent position and a reason to be involved.
There are plenty of dramatic events, but they are not Kross' focus - this is not an action book. What impresses is the construction of the world, the moods, the relations. It's a world I enjoy sitting down in a chair and visiting, and I'm glad I still have one more book to go.
January 17, 2026
I am reading this trilogy very slowly, in parallel with many other books, and I was holding off on the review until I finish the whole thing, but now I realized that there is one more volume! (That's because there are four volumes in the Estonian edition, and I didn't realize it from the start, I thought that the English Vol 2 is Estonian 2 and 3, and that will be it. Now I am going to start on the last volume, and it might take me another six months to finish it, but I wanted to wave to my friends who follow me on this platform - this is an absolutely amazing book! I can confirm every word I wrote about Volume 1 (The Ropewalker): https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...
December 10, 2024
Paskutinio trilogijos dalis (arba antroji iš dviejų knyga) apie 16 a estų metraštininko gyvenimą ir peripetijas. Tai tobula knygą visiems norintiems pajusti to metų mūsų šiauriečių kaimynų gyvenimo dvasią :)
Asmeniškai man patiko. Skaičiau šią knygą ne kaip romaną, o kaip istorinę knygą.
Asmeniškai man patiko. Skaičiau šią knygą ne kaip romaną, o kaip istorinę knygą.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews