In Lithuanian Wood [Paperback]

Wendell Mayo (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1998

A riveting novel reflecting current times in Eastern Europe--a time of opening up and of storytelling so vital to understanding cultural differences.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Mayo's first novel (after his debut collection of stories, Centaur of the North) investigates the stormy climate of post-Communist Lithuania in the early 1990s through the orbit of an American poetry teacher stationed in Vilnius. Peopled by myriad characters and marked by disparate genres, voices and narrative techniques (including fable, parable and literary allusions to Dante, Hawthorne, Ovid, Shakespeare), the novel assumes a frenetic tone that ultimately compromises its coherence. Carried in large part by the teacher Paul Rood, the narrative debunks the theory that liberation from communism brings with it prosperity and emotional stability. Instead, confusion, mistrust and contempt for the West characterize Rood's students and acquaintances; each one experiences a particular kind of regional anxiety that seems to corrupt everyone it touches. Danguole, an administrator at the house where the American teachers stay, rages against their "Western" habits (including regular bathing); Alma, Rood's pupil, engages herself to a nearly comatose ex-army officer after having known him for only a few days; Ana, a Ph.D. candidate, claims that her mother was a witch; and an American Fulbright scholar contracts an eye disease before cloistering himself in a tiny room to tend to a wounded dog who lives on his roof. These incidents are bizarre and numerous and often complicated by dense prose that strains to replicate the very complexities of human experience it describes. The result is a novel that suffers from an organizational disarray akin to the spiritual unease that afflicts its characters.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"In his beautifully achieved collection... Wendell Mayo explores the hard truths of the post-Iron Curtain era. Through the person of Paul Rood, who takes his enthusiasm for Walt Whitman to a country that has known only the depredations of Nazi and Soviet tyranny for half a century, the reader enters in to the recognition of what tyranny, with its attendant corruption, economic exploitation, and cynicism do to the human spirit... It is a book of great humanity and splendid prose." -- Gladys Swan

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: White Pine Press (September 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1877727873
• ISBN-13: 978-1877727870
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,169,526 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Buy for Lithuanian Americans!, December 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: In Lithuanian Wood (Paperback)

This book provides a touching and artistic view of post-communist Lithuania. You really get a feel for how the years of communist rule affected the way people think, act, and live. The short stories are creatively interwoven and make this book an enjoyable and quick read.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Baltic Grain of Wood, February 20, 2003

By 

Zinta Aistars "Writer & Editor" (Portage, MI United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In Lithuanian Wood (Paperback)

Lithuanian Wood is this moment resting on my coffee table. The edges show a little comfort of wear and tear. I couldn't resist turning these pages... As Lithuania is neighbor to my own Latvia (I hold dual citizenship for Latvia and USA), Mayo's tales charmed me with similarities to the culture in which I was raised and nurtured. I am astounded that a non-Lithuanian could capture the essence of another culture so well.