FALL COMES FROM THE FOREST

The tug between the old world and the new is explored in Katiliškis’ novel, first published in Lithuanian in 1957 and now translated into English by Šležas.

The author presents readers with an ensemble of characters, led by the older Petras the Red and the younger Tilius, who begin the novel in a kind of harmony, working together as loggers in Lithuania. Tilius is in love with Agnė, the 17-year-old daughter of Veronika Gužienė who runs the store where the loggers gather for drinks after a hard day’s toil. The passages describing Agnė, and the clandestine yet innocent meetings between the two lovers on a bridge (“The wind ruffled the puddles of water and, keeping low to the ground, came racing from a far-off land”), are some of the most stunning in the novel. Tilius’ desire for more from life, for “something better,” and the uncertainty that stems from this is explored in numerous ways. One is through frequent references to the tension between those working the land and those linked to office work and government. Another comes from Tilius’ meeting with Doveika’s wife; expecting a woman as old as her husband, Tilius instead finds Monika Doveikienė, an attractive young woman with whom he soon begins an affair. The contrast between the seductive Monika and the seemingly naïve Agnė, and how Tilius and Monika hoodwink the elderly Doveika, becomes gripping in the novel’s second half. Though Katiliškis’ prose is lyrical and powerfully descriptive, it’s verbose in a way that muddles the events of the novel, particularly in the first half. However, this isn’t necessarily fatal, as the fresh language makes the book consistently compelling.

A surprising and beautiful novel about the desire for more.