Customer Reviews

Vilnius: City of Strangers

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This is a wonderful review of historical events that have left marks on the built environment in Vilnius. I am so much more appreciative of this lovely city knowing more about its past. Vilnius: City of Strangers is a great read, and I recommend it to anyone interested in Eastern European history or Vilnius!

Laimonas Briedis tells his narrative of Vilnius through the eyes of visitors to the city over its long and tumultuous history. The story begins with visits by Papal representatives noting their difficulties in reaching Lithuania and their attempts at converting Lithuania to Christianity, and grows to include observations left by other visitors who stayed in the chartered city for various lengths of time. It isn't so much a history of the city as it is a set of impressions left by strangers through their writings, providing a sense of how the city has grown and developed into a cosmopolitan capital over the centuries.

His chapters on Napoleon's Grand Army, which encamped in Vilnius before and after its ill-fated invasion of Russia, and on the Jewish experience over the centuries stand out. He also provides a number of other anecdotes including Dostoevsky's brief stay in Vilnius on his way to European spas, as told through his wife's journal. As such, it becomes a memoir of the city for good and for bad, as experienced by these strangers.

One of Briedis' more interesting references is Israel Cohen, who wrote a wonderful history of the city, Vilna (Jewish Communities Series), prior to WWII. In it Cohen not only describes the Jewish experience but also the levels of tolerance of the various governments during that time.

I felt the flowing narrative broke down in the closing chapters as Briedis bemoans the city's loss of identity with the major changes that occurred during and after WWII, not least of all the Holocaust. The demographics were dramatically altered and the city was transformed greatly under Soviet rule, but since independence in 1991, Vilnius has undergone a profound change, which I didn't feel Briedis had a firm grip of. Nevertheless, I felt this was a very good study of the city and adds to the growing compendium of the city available in English.

I heard so much praise for this book that I had to have it. It left me completely disappointed because all the reviews misrepresented the content of the book.

It is NOT a history of the city. It is a collection of travel impressions from various "strangers" -- foreigners who happened to visit the city at some point during its history.

Much of the content is spent on introducing these "strangers" and then retelling their impressions. Because there is no attempt to weave a coherent history from these accounts, there are significant periods or topics with no coverage. As these accounts were taken from foreigners who spend just a brief time in the city, the insights -- while at times refreshing -- are often shallow & spotty.

Vilnius, City of Strangers. 250 pp

This is an ideal book that ties the people of Vilnius together. The big change is the Grande Armee of Napoleon in 1812. Then comes the Polish-Lithuanian revolt from Russia in 188?. The Jews are heavily into this Jerusalem of Lithuanis. The outstanding rabbi (goan) was there in 1779.
It has numerous references and ties strangers together. The author lives in Vancouver and Vilnius.

While I am familiar with the history of Vilnius, having visited the city a number of times, this book provides a different take on that history, which I found to be very interesting.

N.V.Udrys