That’s the last book of Jaan Kross’ “Between Three Plagues.” It took me a while to find all four parts (and it was very confusing to learn that there are actually four books, but parts two and three come as one book), but anyway, I finally turned the last page. I am as sad finishing this epic as my kids used to feel finishing the newest Harry Potter book, since for such a long time, Baltazar Russow was my companion. Each time I came to Tallinn, and it happened several times during my reading, I wanted to walk the streets that were mentioned in the book, stay by the building, and try to imagine events that happened over 400 years ago. My last trip, just over a month ago, was especially memorable since we stayed in a hotel with a mid-16th-century ceiling painted with some lively scenes, and I imagined that Baltazar could see this exact ceiling. It was also the first time I went inside the Holy Spirit Cathedral and saw the Baltazar Russow memorial plaque.
Having my connections to Finland and Estonia, it’s one of the most important books I’ve read. I think that only now do I fully understand the centuries of struggle of the people of Estonia and appreciate the entire complexity of it, as well as Estonia’s relationships with other neighboring (or non-neighboring) countries. I feel ashamed of not being informed for such a long time, and having mostly the “touristy” perspective of the country.
Another important aspect of this epic is Baltazar’s continuous reflection on the role of a historian, his responsibility for preserving the truth about his people, and at the same time, making sure that his work can be published, and all these never-ending compromises which, in the end, make him call his chronicles “a book of falsehoods,” while it still remains the most complete historical evidence of that period.
And finally, as I already mentioned while I reviewed the previous volumes, this is the most “lively” historical novel I ever read. I so loved the feeling of being there, witnessing everything that was happening. I read page after page, and I could smell coals on the snow-covered streets of Tallinn and the sweat of people packed in a tavern after a day of hard work. I could hear the neighing horses and screaming kids. I could feel the cold, wet November snow, and the warmth of moss in the summer forest. People, their feelings and their thoughts, their hesitations, love and betrayal – everything is so real!
I knew that Balthasar Russow was a real person, but reading the book made him even more real for me than many of my contemporaries. As if I were actually there.
We know very little about him, so everything except for his three wives is fictional. But I still want to believe that Epp was a real person, and that he saw her before his death. And the only thing that saddens me about the end of this book is that his last thought was about feeling guilty of being happy sometimes. How can anyone feel guilty of being happy? I guess I can think that Jaan Kross imagined it. But just that! 🙂
Hettie's Reflections 