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HomeShop at BookSurgeTechnology & EngineeringTelecommunicationsInherit the Family: Marrying into Eastern Europe stories by Vello Vikerkaar |
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The true joys of Estonian life Nov 19, 2009
I'll get the one negative thing out of the way first - the cover's a bit nondescript and the title it bears is a bit misleading, if only because it might cause those unfamiliar with Vello's work to expect one of those godawful "aren't-they-amusing-and-rather-Ruritanian" travelogues written by people from the Sunday supplements who think patronising sarcasm extended for long enough eventually forms a kind of insight.
In fact Vello's book is the exact opposite of such flimsy offerings from writers who define themselves as outside observers. He hasn't swanned into Estonia for a couple of weeks, he has committed to the place 24/7. He's an outsider trying to be an insider but only making small, slow, advances. The painful rate of progress periodically leads to massive frustration which explodes in a sort of impotent, absurd exasperation.
There are plenty of comic situations that only real life could possibly throw up, including a memorable life or death struggle over a rabbit hutch and musings on the geo-economic factors that result in a covertly homosexual companion for Barbie being foisted on Eastern Europe.
Vello also debunks a few myths. If this book actually gets into the hands of locals they may finally realise that the foreigners living among them are generally much less interesting and intelligent than they give them credit for, and that foreign journalists in particular are more likely to be hopeless hacks than secret service men.
But best of all Vello exhibits the brevity and discpline in his writing that is a direct result of being a newspaper columnist rather than a mere blogger. Vello's columns are lean, funny and quick.
The brevity of each self-contained chapter makes them perfect bathroom reading material. Saying they are the ideal accompaniment to a bowel movement may not be something Vello will appreciate overly, but honestly there is no greater endorsement I can give them as a large part of my literary education takes place on porcelain.
Ultimately I think Vello protests a little too much about his inability to fit in with a varied set of dramatis personae which includes a whores' choir, numerous semi-comatose tradesmen and the genuinely surreal unexplained acts of assorted relatives. He's much more of a genuine Estonian than he likes to let on.
Whereas Lithuanians go for slapstick and Latvians laugh at broad farce, the Estonians seem to have a dry irony that frequently manifests itself in self-deprecation and is actually rather sophisticated. And that's the attitude Vello captures so well.
Inherit The Family also has one of the best opening lines I've read for a long time, so buy it for someone you know and make them laugh on the toilet. That way it doesn't even matter if they wet themselves.
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