Novel
Zaļā zeme
Not translated into English
Andrejs Upīts · 1945
Synopsis
The book opens with the long round of the master of Brīviņi through the parish of Dīvaja, at the end of the nineteenth century. This farmer has risen by dishonest means, even to the point of burning down a barn for the insurance money, and is seeking the office of parish elder. Around his farm, where his children Ješka and Laura and the farmhand Bramanis live, the Osis family sinks into poverty despite its hope of establishing itself, and Liena, Bērziņš's daughter, finds herself caught in a trap.
Context
Written during the family's evacuation to the Kirov region, the book appeared in Riga in 1945, and Rūdolfs Egle reviewed it as early as 8 June in Literatūra un Māksla. It received the Stalin Prize in 1946; its author, who saw in it the greatest achievement of his life, called it his monument. The stage adaptation, published in 1948, was staged at the National Theatre by Alfreds Amtmanis-Briedītis in 1950, then by Edmunds Freibergs in 1996. Long compulsory reading in schools, it is the most translated work of Andrejs Upīts and one of the most frequently reissued in Latvian literature.
Who it is for
A great peasant fresco at a slow pace: its first chapter, a round of more than thirty-five pages, puts off many readers.
Prizes and reception
Long imposed on schoolchildren and debated for its ideological positions, it is still regarded as an undisputed classic of Latvian letters.