Three seconds of heaven
Three seconds of heaven is the first novel by the Lithuanian writer Sigitas Parulskis , published in 2002 . The original title is 'Trys secondaryės dangaus'. The novel has been translated into eight languages.
action
The novel is based on the experience of the author who was drafted into the paratroopers of the Soviet army. He tells of the unscrupulous morals prevailing there, about unusual encounters and the disorientation after the independence of Lithuania. He is characterized by an original narrative style.
The 40-year-old Robertas, first-person narrator, is in the dunes of the Curonian Spit and reflects on his previous life, as well as his dreams. In addition to his discontinued studies, the unhappy love for Mary, which is described as very rational and prefers churches to Roberta, he is occupied with the military service, which lasted two years.
From the time he was stationed with a Soviet elite unit on a military training area near Cottbus in the GDR, he retained many impressions, above all the fear of the parachute jump, the three seconds of absolute silence before he could pull the rip cord, which was not even affected by fear of death . Here, in the Lieberoser Heide, where after the National Socialist Stalinist camps were located, Soviet soldiers allowed themselves to be brutally humiliated by their superiors and were afraid of death, which could overtake you from falling from the air as well as from private arguments with unscrupulous comrades .
Three seconds of heaven is a very hard book about the strains of training to become a top army unit, about the impossibility of loving, about the feeling of barely walking with strength, but also barely being able to stand because of alcohol. This gloomy panorama is made digestible with a good dose of humor, irony and sarcasm.
Awards
- 2004 Lithuanian Writers' Union Prize for the best book of the year
- 2004 National Prize of the Republic of Lithuania
literature
- Trys secondaryės dangaus. Novel. Baltos lankos, Vilnius, 2002.
- Three seconds of heaven. Novel. Translated from the Lithuanian by Claudia Sinnig. Claassen, Berlin 2009, ISBN 978-3-546-00448-0 .
Web links
- Leafed forward - Sigitas Parulskis: Three seconds of heaven. In: perlentaucher.de. February 13, 2009. Retrieved October 29, 2018 .
- 8th International Literature Days Sprachsalz 10. – 12. September 2010. In: uibk.ac.at. August 25, 2016. Retrieved October 29, 2018 .
- Sigitas Parulskis - international literature festival berlin. In: literaturfestival.com. Retrieved October 29, 2018 .
Individual evidence
- ^ Parulskis Sigitas - Lithuanian Writers Union. In: rasytojai.lt. September 12, 2018, accessed October 26, 2018 .