“The Last Book Smuggler” by Birutė Putrius [Book Review]

You should stop what you’re doing right now and read “The Last Book Smuggler” by Birutė Putrius! Its pages are a lesson for all humanity about tragedy, hope, and success beautifully woven like a Lithuanian juosta sash as a masterpiece of historical fiction. Although set in Lithuania in 1902, this book is universal in both the transposition of its characters and story as well as the transcendence of its message to anyone who casts their eye upon its mesmerizing pages.

STAR RATINGS:

BOOK SMUGGLER STATS:

• Published 2018
• 367 total pages
• 362 pages of text
• 45 chapters
• 1 map
• 1 Afterword section
• Hardcover not available 🙁

BOOK SMUGGLER REVIEW:

“The Last Book Smuggler” by Birutė Putrius is the fictional account of the Varnas family, centered around daughter Ada and her book smuggling grandfather Viktoras. Although book smuggling is a fundamental theme of this work, it is in no ways the only vein or undercurrent of activity going on. “The Last Book Smuggler” is a whirlwind of activity and abounds with cultural and political subtexts that define each of the relationships between its exquisitely played characters. These subtexts are what drive the narrative and create such a powerful lesson book for both Lithuanians and non-Lithuanians who are interested in learning from one of the most fascinating periods of world history.

The period of time in which “The Last Book Smuggler” is situated is during the first Russian occupation of Lithuania, 1795-1918. During this time not only was the Lithuanian language banned, all forms of publication, teaching, and even writing in the familiar Latin alphabet outlawed — it was supplanted with Cyrillic. The consequences for speaking were severe enough; however, possessing any printed material was legally tantamount to treason within the occupying nation!

It’s hard to imagine but hundreds of thousands of people were imprisoned, tortured, and even sent to Siberian labour camps during this imperious time. Above all of that, it must be said, this book is about the indomitable Lithuanian spirit and force of will which is ultimately embodied in its people’s love of their own language! Book smuggling became a way for Lithuanians to hold on to their language: they printed books across the border in Prussia (Lithuania Minor) and then smuggled them, on pain of death, back into their own country for clandestine circulation.

The title “The Last Book Smuggler” is predicated on those historical facts. This novel, nonetheless, is historical fiction and, as mentioned, although it plays a sufficient backdrop to the narrative itself, it is only one of many intricately interwoven themes that create the juosta-esque tapestry. The book is about love, family, intergenerational piety, class roles, national pride, coming of age, religion, nature, anthropomorphism, humour, and much, much more.

The first 3 chapters start out a bit slow as we are introduced to the characters, their personalities and predilections. However, as the multitude of plots begin to unfold, the reader is intimately captivated by the Varnas family and their exceptional village of Sapnai.

What makes reading “The Last Book Smuggler” by Birutė Putrius such a stellar read is that it is a historical fiction based off of the author’s own family history, where her very own grandfather was a book smuggler. In the Afterword section of the book she mentions that in the writing of this beautiful novel her own family also contributed by playing the role of fact-checkers, it’s all about authenticity here!

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“As Ada gazed out the window, she thought that from afar, the neighbors’ cottages looked like snow-covered mushrooms. Everything was still, as if the world was holding its breath. Behind the poplar tree, she could see a tiny bird’s track like a seam. Grandfather’s snow-covered beehives looked like mere bumps, the bees inside, slumbering contentedly” (p.99).

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To discover this book is to discover intimations about the human soul; it is also to discover perspectives on family and our relationship to the land. These may be discoveries for some, rediscoveries for others. That is what makes this book so important: it’s about the lessons of the past that inform us about the future, not in some kitschy-contrived mish-mosh of post-modern hacksterism, but by the way the author gently and genuinely embodies traditional, wholesome values and brings them to life in her characters.

As I was rounding out the final few chapters of the book, as I was about to greet the end with a final sense of anticipation at the denouement, I remember being overcome with an ironic sense of anxiety as I realized that this was the end, and I distinctly wanted to read more. After checking my social media page, to my delight, author Birutė Putirus had posted that this book will be made into a TRILOGY!

I’ll give this book one final compliment: this is a book I would proudly SMUGGLE!!!

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

• Putrius, Birutė. 2018. The Last Book Smuggler. Los Angeles: Birchwood Press.
• ISBN-13: 978-0996515337
• Amazon Link.

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