by CKR
One of the world's great writers died this week. Jaan Kross was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature a number of times. Much of his work has been translated into English.
The Tsar's Madman and Professor Martens' Departure, the two of his novels that I have read, deal with some of the same themes of The White Ship. Aino Kallas was writing before the Soviet occupation, and Kross after, so his novels contain an additional layer of history through which Estonia's nineteenth century is seen.
His writing is exquisite, the characters strongly drawn so that we feel their conflicting loyalties and necessities. Anselm Hollo is an outstanding translator. I can only claim to having read Kross's work in English, but I recommend it highly.
Some photos here.
Update from Eric Dickens: For a longer list of the novels that Jaan Kross wrote (of the 16, only three are available in English translation) please have a look at the Three Percent website, run from Rochester University, New York State, where I have recently posted a quick overview of all the main novels he wrote.
Other people have written, in English, in more detail about specific books, but I wanted to also mention the books that have never appeared in English, plus his 600-page autobiography, which appeared in 2003.
I myself have translated two books by Kross into English; Anselm Hollo, the Finnish-American poet, a further two. But that's all there is in English. There are six of Kross' works in French, some also in German, Swedish, Dutch, Russian and in Finnish, which language closely resembles Estonian.
Further update by CKR: The link that Eric gives us is an outstanding overview of Kross's novels. Suur tänu, Harra Dickens! I'll also add to the list a lovely little volume that I picked up somewhere, either Milwaukee or Tallinn: The Rock from the Sky, five of Kross's short stories (novellas?), probably translated to English through a Russian translation of the Estonian. It was published in 1983 by Raduga Publishers.
A review of one of Kross's books translated into English.