Novel
Baltaragio malūnas, arba kas dėjosi anuo metu Paudruvės krašte
Not translated into English
Kazys Boruta · 1945
Synopsis
Baltaragis's Mill, or what happened long ago in the land of Paudruvė: the miller Baltrus Baltaragis, to win Marcelė's hand, made a rash promise to the devil Pinčiukas, who haunts a nearby marsh: he gave him what he would have only after his marriage, his daughter Jurga. Marcelė having died, he tries to cheat the devil by offering him his maidservant, Uršulė, who runs away and, saddled with the nickname of the devil's betrothed, takes revenge through gossip. Pinčiukas, who has recognised Jurga, drives off her suitors one by one.
Context
Published in 1945, the book takes up the folk tales of man's struggle against the devil. Its author, arrested the following year, then saw his books almost banned under the Soviet regime, and the novel did not return until 1962, in a revised version. It has since had a long series of adaptations: a rock opera by Vyacheslav Ganelin to verses by Sigitas Geda in 1973, a very popular Soviet musical film, La Fiancée du diable, in 1974, then a ballet by Vytautas Brazdylis in 1979.
Who it is for
A short, poetic novel, translated into several languages; no French or English translation has been found.
Prizes and reception
The best-known work of its author, regarded as a milestone of the Lithuanian poetic novel and as one of the most original novels of the century.