Lithuania
206
Jakimavičius, Liudvikas (text)
Lilis, Mantas (illus.)
Lapf ir kaliosai. Pasaka (The fox and the galoshes. Fairytales)
Vilnius: Dominicus Lituanus, 2008. – 104 p.
ISBN 978-9955-811-03-9
Fairytale
»The fox and the galoshes« is
the second book of Liudvikas Jakimavičius. The protagonists, highly
anthropomorphized animals, regularly rely on trickery to achieve their goals
or to get out of awkward situations. Their adventures in the Lithuanian
capital of Vilnius during the Christmas rush notably make evident the
capitalist critique implicit in the stories. This appealing and original
little book is illustrated with fun ink drawings. The chapter headings,
which are embellished with cryptic pictographs that are explained at the end
of the book, present a particular challenge to the reader. (6+)
207
Saja, Kazys
... kurio nieks nemylfjo. Romanas jaunam skaitytojui (... the one whom no one loved)
Vilnius: Alma littera, 2008. – 125 p.
ISBN 978-9955-38-119-8
City – Fringe group – Orphanage – Country life – Family – Father – Son
The Lithuanian author Kazys Saja (b. 1932) wrote socially critical youth literature already in Soviet times. In this novel, he dedicates himself to the negative spinoffs of capitalistic civilization in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius. While his mother works abroad, eight-year-old Sigitas is put onto the street to beg by his step-father. When the boy’s mother is shot, he is sent to an orphanage. After his biological father is released from prison, the father, son, and the son’s guardian encounter one another. Together the three drive into the country to the farm of Sigitas’s grandparents, of which only the foundations remain. Nevertheless, the timidly forming family decides to start a new life there, whereby Saja gives his realistic story the possibility of a happy ending. (12+)