Skylarks and Rebels is a story about Latvia’s fate in the 20th century as told by Rita Laima, a Latvian American who chose to leave behind the comforts of life in America to explore the land of her ancestors, Latvia, which in the 1980s languished behind the Soviet Iron Curtain. In writing about her own experiences in a totalitarian state, Soviet-occupied Latvia, Laima delves into her family’s past to understand what happened to her fatherland and its people during and after World War II. She also pays tribute to some of Latvia’s remarkable people of integrity who risked their lives to oppose the mindless ideology of the brutal and destructive Soviet state.
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Delivery time
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Delivery time 2-3 working days.
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Number of Pages |
538
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Format |
24,0 cm x 16,8 cm
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Language |
English
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Publication date |
30.08.2017
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Series |
Edition Noema
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Type |
Hardcover
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ISBN
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978-3-8382-0854-1
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Weight
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881 g
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“Rita Laima has authored an eloquent and frequently riveting account of an extraordinary personal experience. Having made the choice to enter the prison-like society of Soviet Latvia as a young woman born and raised in the United States, she tries to comprehend, decades later, what attracted and fascinated her by the land of her parents and ancestors. What makes Laima’s project especially valuable and enlightening is the skill with which she reintegrates the minutiae of daily life in Soviet Latvia within the broader context of the nation’s history. By contrasting her observations and experiences in Soviet Latvia with what she knows and what she has grown to value in a free and democratic society, Laima brings to light the mindless, absurd, and dehumanizing colonizing process enveloping a once-independent nation and its people. Laima’s artistic eye and sensitivity bring out the beauty of nature as well as that of musical, architectural, and other cultural achievements that both illustrate Latvia’s rich and colorful past and its people’s continuing creative potential. The tribute the author pays to all those who dedicated their efforts and lives to achieve independence can serve as an inspiration not only to those engaged in similar struggles around the globe but also to those who take it for granted.“—Karlis Racevskis, Emeritus Professor of French, The Ohio State University
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