Book reviews

Viivi Luik
The Golden Crown

by Aija Sakova
ELM 2/2023
•••
Viivi Luik is undoubtedly one of the most important and internationally renowned authors of Estonian literature. Enchanting Estonian reader...

Gunnar Neeme
Windsure

by Janika Kronberg
ELM 2/2023
•••
Gunnar Neeme (1918–2005) lived most of his life in Australia and achieved international recognition as an artist. He published two ...

Liis Sein
Mona's Dad Has Some Ideas

by Kairi Look
•••
Liis Sein began her writing career with plays that have been both staged, and awarded in playwriting competitions. She also co-wrote the sc...

Kadri Kiho, Stella Salumaa
Endel and Kati

by Jaanika Palm
•••
The success of Endel and Kati, by Kadri Kiho and Stella Salumaa, began with winning first place in the Knee-High Book Competition for child...

Andrus Kivirähk, Veiko Tamjärv
November

by Mari Laaniste
•••
At this point in time, an Estonian novel getting adapted into a graphic novel could be described as a phenomenon that’s only slightly m...

Andrus Kivirähk
Flight to the Moon

by Karl-Martin Sinijärv
•••
Andrus Kivirähk is one of the most popular and fascinating Estonian authors of the last quarter century (and no doubt of all time). His new...

Lilli Luuk
My Brother's Body
Miss Kolkhoz

by Vilja Kiisler
ELM 1/2023
•••
Lilli Luuk appeared on the Estonian literary scene like a glimmering comet from a faraway galaxy – coming out of nowhere but taking her rig...

Tauno Vahter
A Good Russian

by Annika A. Koppel
ELM 1/2023
•••
Tauno Vahter is a publisher, translator, and writer. A Good Russian is his second novel, following The 11 Escapes of Madis Jefferson (2021)...

Carolina Pihelgas
Watching the Night

by Kärt Hellerma
ELM 1/2023
•••
Carolina Pihelgas’s debut novel can be labeled as a “kinship book”. Composed with confidence, its plot extends from the recent- to the some...

Epp Annus
Greetings, Aleksander

by Ene-Reet Soovik
ELM 1/2023
•••
Epp Annus’s Greetings, Aleksander is a tale told in an old farmhouse in the middle of a hayfield, among the dull yellow loneliness of grass...

Jaak Jõerüüt
Seven Odysseys

by Siim Lill
ELM 1/2023
•••
The full extent of Jaak Jõerüüt’s writing is outstanding. Over just a handful of years, he has published short stories, a novel, an incred...

Jaanus Vaiksoo
Shoe #41

By Kadri Naanu
•••
Shoe #41 by Jaanus Vaiksoo is a new addition to the series that follows the adventures of 12-year-old Paul Fifth and his best friends, Min...

Kätlin Kaldmaa
Lydia

by Loone Ots
ELM 2/2022
•••
Kaldmaa’s Lydia is the story of a little girl who grows up to become an esteemed poet. The author undertook the daring task of writing...

Kärt Hellerma
The Blue Mass

By Eret Talviste
ELM 2/2022
•••
Kärt Hellerma (b. 1956) is an Estonian writer whose debut book, Alchemy, appeared in 1997. She has since published in a variety of genres, ...

Anti Saar
Anni’s Things

Kairi Look
ELM 1/2022
•••
Every new book Anti Saar writes holds a surprise in terms of both topic and style. He has published close to a dozen works; including young...

Kertu Sillaste
Help!

Jaanika Palm
ELM 1/2022
•••
Kertu Sillaste has already been a familiar name to fans of Estonian children’s literature for more than a decade. After initially illustrat...

Piret Raud
The Rooted Garden

Jaanika Palm
ELM 1/ 2022
•••
Although The Rooted Garden is a small book in a soft pink color palette, its message is tremendous and provides a feast of food for thought...

Kadri Hinrikus
The Elephant

Jaanika Palm
ELM 1/2022
•••
Kadri Hinrikus’s books let the brighter side of life shine through, and are ideal for when dark clouds of worry crowd one’s thoughts or unf...

Rein Raud
The Sun Script

Siim Lill
ELM 1/2022
•••
Rein Raud is an author, philosopher, and Asian Studies scholar whose works never go unnoticed. Raud’s numerous novels serve as a li...

Eva Koff
Lucid Dreams

Silvia Urgas
ELM 1/ 2022
•••
Eva Koff’s second novel Lucid Dreams is true to its title, exploring a state of lucid dreaming that is so powerful it cannot be separat...

Kai Aareleid
Pacific Ocean

By Kärt Hellerma
ELM 1/2022
•••
It’s easy to summarize Kai Aareleid’s novel Pacific Ocean in just a few words: Stella, the protagonist, is cheated on by her hu...

Kiwa
Sources of Rubber Glue

Helena Läks
ELM 1/2022
•••
Kiwa (Jaanus Kivaste) dabbles in an array of creative fields: he is perhaps best known as an artist but is also a composer, curator, p...

Juta Kivimäe
The Drawing Room

Taavi Kangur
ELM 1/ 2022
•••
Juta Kivimäe’s debut novel The Drawing Room shared first place in the 2021 novel-writing competition organized by the Estonian Writ...

Loone Ots
Love in a Hopeless Place

By Andrei Hvostov
ELM 1/2022
•••
Loone Ots’s debut novel won first place in the Estonian Writers’ Union’s 2021 Fiction Contest. Reviewing Loone Ots’s novel, I must t...

Recent translations

By Estonian Literature Centre
ELM 2/2020
•••
English JONAS TAULÖömõttedA Serious ThoughtPublished by Groundwood Books/House of Anansi Press, 202064 pages Finnish JAAN KROS...

Maarja Kangro
Wind

By Siim Lill
ELM 2/2020
•••
Nähtamatu Ahv 2019, 120 pp.ISBN 9789949013357 Maarja Kangro holds an unshakeable position on the Estonian literary scene. Her poetry, pr...

Peedu Saar
Veronicas

By Piret Viires
ELM 2/2020
•••
Tallinn: Paradiis, 2019. 182 pp.ISBN    9789949741212Peedu Saar’s Veronicas is a dreamily sentimental romance that reads as ...

Tõnis Vilu
Emotional Upbringing

By Kerstin Vestel
ELM 2/2020
•••
Häämaa 2020, 93 pp.ISBN 9789949016594 Emotional Upbringing: Japanese Death Poems is Tõnis Vilu’s seventh poetry collection. On his blog,...

Andrus Kivirähk
The Horned Blue Beast

By Maarja Vaino
ELM 2/2020
•••
EKSA, 2019. 296 pp.EAN 9789949684045 The Horned Blue Beast (2019) is the fifth novel by Andrus Kivirähk – a satirist, incredibly prolifi...

Gerda Märtens
The Northern Lights

By Jaanika Palm
ELM 2/2020
•••
Koolibri 2020, 40 ppISBN    9789985043738 Gerda Märtens, one of the most unique and fascinating illustrators in Estonian children’s lite...

Kärt Hellerma
Koidula’s Hand

By Helena Läks
ELM 2/2020
•••
Tuum, 216 pp.ISBN 9789949743308 Kärt Hellerma’s collection Koidula’s Hand contains ten dissimilar short stories, the characters of which...

Mait Vaik
Sad Little Autumn

By Peeter Helme
ELM 2/2020
•••
Puiestee, 2018. 302 pp.ISBN    9789949728220 Sad Little Autumn, by Mait Vaik, who is best known in Estonia as a musician,...

Kairi Look
Piia Biscuit and the Bandits

By Peeter Helme
ELM 2/2020
•••
Illustrated by Ulla Saar.Tänapäev, 2019. 142 pp.EAN 9789949856473 Kairi Look has thoroughly proven herself in the field of Estonian chil...

Mudlum
Polish Boys

By Helena Läks
ELM 2/2020
•••
EU Prize for Literature Laureate 2020 To write about one of the most distinctive and vibrant cultural groups to emerge in Estonia in rec...

Eia Uus
What It Feels Like for a Girl

By Taavi Hallimäe
ELM 1/2020
•••
Postimees Kirjastus 2019, 272 ppISBN 9789949669653 Eia Uus’s new novel, What It Feels Like for a Girl, could be catalogued in the “leisu...

Jaanus Vaiksoo
Shoe #39

By Helena Koch
ELM 1/2020
•••
Ärkel 2019, 184 pp9789949727223 Jaanus Vaiksoo’s Shoe #39 tells the story of 11-year-old Paul, who skips school for the first time in hi...

Kaur Riismaa
Little Ferdinand

By Mihkel Kunnus
ELM 1/2020
•••
Vihmakass ja kakerdaja 2019, 320 ppISBN 9789949997763 The title page of Kaur Riismaa’s Little Ferdinand includes a promise: “The charact...

Priit Pärn
The Gothamites Go Global

By Pille-Riin Larm
ELM 1/2020
•••
Tänapäev 2019, 64 pp. ISBN 9789949856268 The outstanding Estonian animated film director Priit Pärn needs no long introduction. His film...

Paavo Matsin
The Congo Tango

By Siim Lill
ELM 1/2020
•••
Lepp ja Nagel 2019, 232 ppISBN 9789789949014 Paavo Matsin’s new novel is a treat for the author’s long-time fans. The story is fast-pace...

Øyvind Rangøy
Entrails

By Maarja Helena Meriste
ELM 1/2020
•••
Vihmakass ja kakerdaja 2019, 65 ppISBN 9789949997732 Øyvind Rangøy is a Norwegian poet whose life is tightly entwined with Estonia. His ...

Doris Kareva
Drowse and Shimmer

By Maarja Helena Meriste
ELM 1/2020
•••
Verb 2019, 128 ppISBN 9789949723867It’s not exactly common for poetry’s charisma to be so great that it reshapes even the most formal and u...

Piret Jaaks
Mommy’s Dragon

By Mari Niitra
ELM 1/2020
•••
Päike ja Pilv 2019, 36 ppISBN 9789949737635 Piret Jaaks and Marju Tammik’s picture book Mommy’s Dragon may be a treat for little booklov...

Piret Raud
The Garden of Devil’s Milks

By Elisa-Johanna Liiv
ELM 1/2020
•••
Tänapäev 2019, 208 ppISBN 9789949856206 According to the text on the back cover of Piret Raud’s novel The Garden of Devil’s Milks, this ...

Selected translations


ELM 2/2019
•••
ChineseTitle “Tantsisklevail lehtedel ta keerleb”Title * 喚發舞動之樹葉 : 五十四首描繪香港風景的俳 (Estonian: Chinese)Author MathuraGenre P...

Eeva Park
My Majestic Giraffes

By Piret Viires
ELM 2/2019
•••
From the “Writers with Writers” seriesTallinn; Hea Lugu, 2018. 158 pp. ISBN   9789949634538 In 2018, the Hea Lugu publishing house launc...

Urmas Vadi
The Ballet Master

By Aro Velmet
ELM 2/2019
•••
Loomingu Raamatukogu 2019, nr 6-9EAN 3220000004467 Urmas Vadi’s The Ballet Master is an absurdist satire of nationalist politics written...

Kertu Sillaste
I Am an Artist

By Mari Niitra
ELM 2//2019
•••
Koolibri 2018, 32 pp. ISBN  9789985041383 Whether or not something is art can be debated ad infinitum. Oftentimes, you hear people loudl...

Martin Algus
Something Real

By Aare Pilv
ELM 2/2019
•••
Varrak 2018, 179 ppISBN  9789985344507 Martin Algus’s novel Something Real, which received the Cultural Endowment of Estonia’s 2019 Awar...

Hasso Krull
Europe

By Taavi Hallimäe
ELM 2/2019
•••
Kaksikhammas 2018, 92 pp. ISBN  9789949999125 Hasso Krull’s poetry collection Euroopa (Europe) becomes steadily denser, more bo...

Piret Raud
All My Relatives

By Krista Kumberg
ELM 2/2019
•••
Illustrated by the authorTänapäev 2017, 116pp.ISBN    9789949852314 The narrator of Raud’s All My Relatives, a boy named Adam, is far fr...

Maarja Pärtna
Vivarium

By Maarja Helena Meriste
ELM 2/2019
•••
Elusamus 2019, 72 pp.ISBN    9789949735013 The role of nature in poetry has, foremost, traditionally been ornamental, atmospheric, or me...

Mihkel Mutt
All is Well

By Siim Lill
ELM 1/2019
•••
Fabian, 2018. 192 pp.ISBN 9789949933686 Mihkel Mutt’s collection of short prose All is Well, published in late 2018, is a follow-up to h...

Kai Aareleid
Secret Lives

By Elisa-Johanna Liiv
ELM 1/2019
•••
Varrak, 2018. 152 pp.ISBN 9789985345016 Kai Aareleid’s first short-story collection Secret Lives comprises novellas and miniatures writt...

Mehis Heinsaar
The Gardener of Tension Fields

By Maarja Helena Meriste
ELM 1/2019
•••
Verb, 2018. 96 pp.ISBN 9789949723812Mehis Heinsaar’s baroquely fantastical world of writing no longer needs a greater introduction for Esto...

Veronika Kivisilla
Until Love Sparks

By Maarja Helena Meriste
ELM 1/2019
•••
Hunt, 2018. 224 pp.ISBN 9789949731909 Occasionally, people speak in alarm about how the digital age has sentenced ‘cherished old book cu...

Maarja Kangro
My Awards

By Peeter Helme
ELM 1/2019
•••
Nähtamatu Ahv, 2018. 336 pp.ISBN 9789949886623Writing about literature is always rife with dangers. One pitfall is that the author ends up ...

Rein Raud
Last One Turns Out the Light

By Peeter Helme
ELM 1/2019
•••
Salv, 2018. 192 pp.ISBN 9789949887408 Rein Raud is an author riveted by society. In addition to writing prose, poetry, and drama, he is ...

Andrus Kivirähk
Tilda and the Dust Angel

By Krista Kumberg
ELM 1/2019
•••
FD Distribution, 2018. 144 pp.ISBN 9789949724802 For anyone expecting to find Andrus Kivirähk’s usual mischievous humor imbedded with im...

Anti Saar
Pärt and the Last Piece of Cake

By Tiina Undrits
ELM 1/2019
•••
Päike ja Pilv 2018. 32 ppISBN 9789949728527 Growing up is a big adventure and a challenge, especially when you’re a seven-year-old b...

Siret Campbell
Beatrice

By Maarja Helena Meriste
ELM 2/2018
•••
Siret Campbell, Beatrice Siret Campbell, 2018. 60 pp ISBN 9789949880256 (also available in English:  ISBN: 9789949886517) Near-future sc...

Leelo Tungal
Comrade Kid

By Maria Lee Liivak
2/2018
•••
Leelo Tungal, Seltsimees laps (Comrade Kid) Tänapäev, 2018. 512 pp ISBN 9789949853076   Leelo Tungal’s Comrade Kid trilogy – Co...

Olle Lauli
The Abyss

By Oliver Berg
ELM 2/2018
•••
Olle Lauli, Kuristik (The Abyss) Tallinn, Gallus, 2018. 439 pp ISBN 9789949720637 Olle Lauli, writing under a pseudonym, is inarguably ...

Berk Vaher
Behind the Corner of the Eye

By Maarja Helena Meriste
ELM 2/2018
•••
Berk Vaher, Silmanurga taga (Behind the Corner of the Eye) Elusamus 2018, 56 pp. ISBN 9789949884346 The title Silmanurga taga (Behind the...

Andra Teede
Tall Men, Long Lives

By Maarja Helena Meriste
ELM 2/2018
•••
Andra Teede, Pikad mehed, pikad elud (Tall Men, Long Lives) Jumalikud ilmutused, 2018. 70 pp. ISBN 9789949519934 Andra Teede is a poet an...

Indrek Hargla
The Three-Spirit Stone

By Peeter Helme
ELM 2/2018
•••
Indrek Hargla, Kolmevaimukivi (The Three-Spirit Stone) Raudhammas, 2018. 425 pp ISBN 9789949985166   This spring, Indrek Hargla...

Eva Koff
Blue Mountain

By Erik Aru
ELM 1/2018
•••
Eva Koff, Sinine mägi (Blue Mountain) Tallinn, Varrak, 2017. 440 pp ISBN 9789985342213 Eva Koff’s Blue Mountain, which shared 2nd and 3...

Vahur Afanasjev
Serafima and Bogdan

By Peeter Helme
ELM 1/2018
•••
Vahur Afanasjev, Serafima ja Bogdan (Serafima and Bogdan) Vemsa, 2017. 560 pp ISBN  9789949880355 The plot of Vahur Afanasjev’s opus ma...

Carolina Pihelgas
Details of Darkness

By Maarja Helena Meriste
ELM 2018/1
•••
Carolina Pihelgas, Pimeduse pisiasjad (Details of Darkness) Kaksikhammas, 2017, 84 pp ISBN 9789949999101 Carolina Pihelgas’s fifth poet...

Hasso Krull
We Carried the Ladder with Us

By Maarja Helena Meriste
ELM 1/2018
•••
Hasso Krull, Kandsime redelit kaasas (We Carried the Ladder with Us) Tartu, Kaksikhammas, 2017, 64 pp ISBN  9789949880188 Carolina Pihe...

Madli Lippur
June/Julien

By Erik Aru
ELM 1/2018
•••
Madli Lippur, June/Julien Tallinn, Tänapäev, 2016. 328 pp ISBN 9789949850280 Madli Lippur’s highly praised debut June / Julien is a nov...

Jan Kaus
Compass

By Peeter Helme
ELM 1/2018
•••
Jan Kaus, Kompass. Miniatuurromaan (Compass. A short prose novel) Hea Lugu, 2017. 111 pp ISBN  9789949589647 Although Jan Kaus has penn...

Triin Soomets
Free Money

By Maarja Helena Meriste
ELM 1/2018
•••
Triin Soomets, Vaba raha (Free Money) Tallinn, Nynorden 2017. 64 pp ISBN: 9789949960071   Triin Soomets is known foremost as an...

Andrei Ivanov
Bathyscaphe

By Oliver Berg
ELM 1/2018
•••
Andrei Ivanov, Batüskaaf (Bathyscaphe) Tallinn: Tänapäev, 2017. 335 pp. ISBN  9789949851713  Andrei Ivanov’s world cannot simply be rea...

Paavo Matsin
The Black Sun

By Erik Aru
ELM 1/2018
•••
Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzmatsin (Paavo Matsin) Must päike (The Black Sun) Lepp ja Nagel, 2017, 192 pp EAN   9789789949885 Paavo Matsin...

Urmas Vadi
Neverland

By Peeter Helme
ELM 2/2017
•••
Urmas Vadi. Neverland Kolm Tarka, 2017. 352 pp Issues of identity remain topical in Estonian literature, and are addressed by Urmas Vadi...

Armin Kõomägi
The Secret
of My Eroticism

By Peeter Helme
ELM 2/2017
•••
Armin Kõomägi. Minu erootika saladus. (The Secret of My Eroticism) Sebastian Loeb, 2017. 238 pp Kõomägi has commented that the most intr...

Maimu Berg
Hitler in Mustjala

By Peeter Helme
ELM 2/2017
•••
Maimu Berg. Hitler Mustjalas (Hitler in Mustjala) Short Stories Tuum, 2016. 221 pp Hitler sells; it’s true. He’s become one of modern s...

Eda Ahi
Harbor

By Jürgen Rooste
ELM 2/2017
•••
Eda Ahi. Sadam (Harbor) Tallinn, Verb, 2017. 48 pp ISBN 9789949984152 Eda Ahi is a self-standing great of contemporary Estonian poetry....

Elo Viiding
Consciousmaker

By Jürgen Rooste
ELM 2/2017
•••
Elo Viiding, Teadvuselooja (Consciousmaker). Tallinn, Tuum, 2016. 64 pp ISBN 9789949979431 Consciousmaker begins in a psycho-mythologic...

Kristjan Haljak
Conceptio Immaculata

By Jürgen Rooste
ELM 2/2017
•••
Kristjan Haljak. Conceptio Immaculata. Tallinn, Vihmakass ja Kakerdaja, 2017. 65 pp ISBN 9789949811212 Kristjan Haljak is the only cred...

Triin Soomets
Chosen Qualities

By Jürgen Rooste
ELM 1/2017
•••
Triin Soomets, Valitud omadused (Chosen Qualities) Tallinn, Tuum, 2016. 327 pp. ISBN: 9789949979424 Chosen Qualities (Valitud omadused)...

Tarmo Teder
Andrus’ Life and Joy

By Jürgen Rooste
ELM 1/2017
•••
Tarmo Teder, Andruse elu ja õnn (Andrus’ Life and Joy) Tallinn, Eesti Keele Sihtasutus, 2016. 102 pp. ISBN: 9789985796795 Tarmo Teder (19...

Katrin Johanson
Atlantis in a Cove

By Peeter Helme
ELM 1/2017
•••
Katrin Johanson, Atlantis abajas (Atlantis in a Cove) Tallinn, Varrak, 2016. 160 pp. ISBN: 9789985337967 Katrin Johanson’s (1972) entra...

Maarja Kangro
The Glass Child

By Jürgen Rooste
ELM 1/2017
•••
Maarja Kangro, Klaaslaps (The Glass Child) Tallinn, Nähtamatu Ahv, 2016. 208 pp. ISBN: 9789949813629 Maarja Kangro (1973) has been one ...

Eeva Park
Pets’ Paradise

By Peeter Helme
ELM 1/2017
•••
Eeva Park, Lemmikloomade paradiis (Pets’ Paradise) Tallinn, Verb, 2016. 239 pp ISBN: 9789949984138 Eeva Park (1950) is one of those rar...

Jan Kaus
The Book of Closeness

By Paul Raud
ELM 2/2016
•••
Jan Kaus, Läheduste raamat (The Book of Closeness) Tallinn, Verb, 2016. 72 pp ISBN: 9789949969067 The miniature, just like many other f...

Karl-Martin Sinijärv
KMSX: How to Say

By Jürgen Rooste
ELM 2/2016
•••
Karl Martin Sinijärv, KMSX: Kuidas öelda (KMSX: How to Say) Tallinn, Näo Kirik, 2016. 96 pp ISBN: 9789949980901 Karl Martin Sinijärv (1...