Baltic Souls

During a boat trip on the Baltic, Jan Brokken chanced upon Pärnu harbour, on the Estonian coast of the Gulf of Riga.

It was an unforgettable introduction to the Baltic lands: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, and the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad. The extraordinary light, the tranquil landscape, and the stories he heard there drew him back time and again. In Baltic Souls, Brokken connects the cultural richness and social diversity of the region over the past eight centuries with tales of personal tragedy and a first-hand account of his travels.

A remarkable number of talented people have come from this relatively small, sparsely populated area, many of them Jewish in origin.

Brokken looks at twenty of those who have left their mark on art and culture worldwide, from filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein and philosopher Hannah Arendt in the early decades of the twentieth century to figures of our own time including violinist Gidon Kremer, composer Arvo Pärt and dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov.

Despite fame and success, their lives were overshadowed by sadness and loss. Many left their native countries to escape the Nazis or Communists, while others saw their families all but obliterated in the Second World War or in post-war ethnic cleansing. Brokken describes several lives marred by tyrannical fathers, a theme that holds a personal fascination for him, to judge from his earlier autobiographical books.

Many prominent figures, burdened by the past, met a tragic end, like the writer Romain Gary and the painter Mark Rothko who both committed suicide.