Baņuta Rubess’s historical novel ” Bruno Slept Here” is published in Latvian

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History–Literature
Baņuta Rubess, Bruno Slept Here
Baņuta Rubess’s historical novel ” Bruno Slept Here” is published in Latvian
On December 17 at 18.00 Rīga’s cultural space Hanza Platform will see the launch of the newly published novel “Te bija Brunis” (“Bruno Slept Here”) by Baņuta Rubess. Members of the Rubess family and family friends will gather to share memories of Bruno Rubess, entrepreneur, public figure and guardian of Latvian life in exile. The book is published by Publishing house “Latvijas Mediji“.
Inviting everyone to the launch of the new book, Baņuta Rubess says: “It will be a very big event for me to meet a Latvian reader, because the book was not written for a Latvian reader; it was written for a reader who is not very interested in Latvian history and who would not run out and grab a book about Latvia. My example is always – Would I read a book about Moldova? Maybe yes, maybe no, I would be tempted. But would I read a book about yoga in wartime, or about young people forced to fight? I might be interested in those general themes. Or, for example, how to deal with trauma, that would interest me. I want to entice the reader to read each chapter.”
Although the author calls her literary work a novel, much of it is memoir and factual history, thus fitting into the broad and all-encompassing genre called creative non-fiction. Many of the characters in the novel are real historical personalities, depicted not in terms of the common public opinion of the person, but in terms of Bruno Rubess’ own view of things and events.
In sharing his impressions of what he has read, journalist Paul Raudseps says: “No other work that I have read has given such a good insight into the experience of a young man conscripted into the Latvian Legion, both during the war and afterwards in a prison camp in the West. In addition, several elements of the work will make it appealing to a younger generation of readers who might otherwise find stories of the Legion outdated. The story of the daughter’s search for information about her father’s wartime experiences bridges time and allows young people today to identify with the story.”
The publication of the novel “Bruno Slept Here” by Baņuta Rubess is part of an anticipated new book series “The Latvian Gene”, with the objective of telling the stories of the lives of prominent and recognizable Latvians and their contribution to promoting Latvian identity and self-worth. The series will include works by Jana Egle, Jānis Joņevs, Dace Rukšāne and others.