Sketches of Estonia

Kirju #7

by Justin Petrone, Heiko Unt (Illustrator )

“Thus began my voyage back to the mainland, where I set off with my notebook, determined to tell some good stories …”
Justin Petrone has lived in Estonia for 15 years and written many books about his experiences, including the bestselling My Estonia trilogy. Sketches of Estonia is a collection of short stories about this intriguing northern land and its engaging characters: world travelers, nudists, geneticists, writers, politicians, hitchhikers, fishermen, drunks, folk musicians, naturalists, builders, poets, clowns, blacksmiths, and tropicalists.

Genres: The United States Of America

248 pages, Paperback

First published July 29, 2016

About the author

A native New Yorker, writer and journalist Justin Petrone has been living in Northern Europe for more than 20 years. With a dozen books to his name and hundreds of articles, he specializes in travel memoirs and experimental dream fiction. His work has appeared in Standart and Edasi.

Reviews

[Jane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ausalt öeldes haarasin selle raamatu raamatukogust ainuüksi lugemise väljakutse punkti tõttu. See on ühtlasi mu esimene teos Petronelt kui ka üldse esimene teos, mida loen Petrone Prindilt...
Täiesti OK lugemine oli - mõned kohad tekitasid sellist huvitavat tuttavat tunnet, et oh, jah, eestlased kipuvad nii tegema jah (nt "Kas sa ikka kartulit said?"), kuid samas oli ka kohti, kus ma kippusin mõtlema, et see ei saa ju ometi olla tüüpiline Eestis välismaalase elamise kogemus.
Kellele sedatüüpi kirjaraamatud meeldivad, siis nemad loevad tõenäoliselt kohe väga suure heameelega. Minusuguse jaoks aga see siiski midagi erilist ei olnud.

[Ene Sepp · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ei midagi pettumust valmistavat ega midagi rabavat. Minu jaoks on alati väga meeldiv lugeda raamatuid, kus Eestisse kolinud välismaalased Eestist räägivad ja väljendavad seda, kuidas nemad meie pisikest riiki näevad. Kuidagi värskendav, kuidagi harukordne. Ja vägagi tuttav oli näha, et on mingi unistus ja kujutelmpilt imelisest taluelust aga reaalsus... reaalsus on siis hoopis teine.

[Xenia Uffrecht · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading Petrone's book a lot. The experiences he describes are far from the ones typical for foreigners in Estonia. But for my taste as a previous exchange student and frequent returns to this lovely little country, they give a good insight into the countries traditions, diversity, history, mindset, and creative scene. Short stories spiced with quite a bit of jokes, stories turning around, it was a great book to read bit by bit.

[Christine The Uncorked Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picture Petrone as a less-sophisticated Bill Bryson on booze. After heading to Estonia, loved this local read.

You can find my full book review here on The Uncorked Librarian: https://theuncorkedlibrarian.com/balt....