The Czar's Madman by Jaan Kross
translated by Anselm Hollo
My rating: *****++
"Is it not--when all is said and done--the case, with regard to all the events of the world, that every visible occurrence is also, or perhaps merely, a hint of invisible connections, of some invisible worlds?"
So writes Jakob Mittak, the author of the journal that is the centerpiece of Jaan Kross's tour de force, The Czar's Madman. With heartwrenching prose, Kross sweeps the reader through 355 pages of historical mayhem and family drama (much of which is loosely based on actual events). Though the writing is dense and intricate, it is never dull. The "madman" of the book's title is Timotheus von Bock, an Estonian nobleman who was once a good friend and confidante of Czar Alexander I. After he marries a peasant woman, Eeva, bringing scandal to his family and to fellow aristocrats, he proceeds to denounce the Czar, whose tyrannical behavior he can no longer condone. In a gesture that seems purely impulsive, he sends a letter to the Czar, explaining to him what is wrong with his rule. For this capricious deed, Timotheus pays dearly. He is arrested and taken away to a high-security prison, where he spends the next nine years of his life.
The images of Timotheus, or Timo, as he is most frequently called, locked away for nearly a decade remain with the reader long after the book ends. At the start of the book Timo has just been released from prison. Older than his years, with greying hair and no teeth, he is a tragic representation of what those in power will do to someone who dares to defy their authority. His wife, Eeeva, has never forgotten him. Their love is more powerful than anything that can separate them. At one point, a friend of both Eeeva and Timo observes:
"Nothing is stronger than love. I know it is love that gives you strength, Eeeva; I have seen that. And you, too, Timo--love is the ground you stand on...."
Eeeva and Timo's son, Juri, is another link that binds them. Born while Timo was in prison, the young boy is a source of hope for both parents.
As the narrator skillfully weaves this unforgettable story, using threads of many colors, he draws the reader into an embroidered masterpiece of intrigue, mystery, and deceit. His journal entries are often dry and concise, giving the reader the opportunity to draw his or her own conclusions from the subtle details he hints at.
Although Jakob Mattik remains somewhat detached from all that goes on around him, his objectivity is what makes this novel work. We never doubt that he will make an honest assessment of Timo's conduct, nor are we ever left feeling that he will allow his emotions to get the best of him. He remains the stoical observer, reporting on events rather than sharing his biased views about what occurs.
Interspersed with the tale of Timo's life, Jakob offers us glimpses at his own existence--his affair with the beguiling Itte, for example, whom he seduces and deserts. Although he decides, later on, that he really did love Itte, at the time he ends his relationship with her, he confesses, "To put it bluntly, my love for her (Itte) had been found wanting."
When he meets the woman who becomes his wife, Anna Klaasen, he is attracted to her because she isn't like the other women he's accustomed to.
"..she...appeared to regard, with a kind of amused indifference those affairs of particular interest to the women (and even the ladies) of the community."
Although he had no plans to marry prior to meeting Anna, her artlessness beguiles him. He announces proudly, "Anna...is completely without affectation, insofar as I know anything about the female nature." At the same time, he is disturbed by Anna's ardor, feeling that it "shows that she has had previous experiences."
Although this romance may seem irrelevant in light of Timo's tortured life, the theme of love and loss is a strong thread that runs throughout the novel. For Timo, nine years have been lost--nine years that changed the course of his life. And all of these years were spent away from Eeva, the woman whom he loves more than anything in the world. For Jakob, his marriage to Anna forces him to confront the feelings he never admitted he had for Iette. As the novel progresses, unfolding like a panorama of copious pictures, Jakob admits his mistake, saying:
"I loved Iette. I won't conceal that anymore, at least not on these pages. I love her still. Four years ago, I sent her away because of her father...Now, if I told someone this, he might say to me, 'Well, that meant you didn't love her enough...To which I would answer, 'Surely great love does not mean complete blindness?'"
Indeed, Jakob is not blind. Even when he demonstrates affection towards his wife, he's well aware of the fact that his heart belongs somewhere else.
"....I realized that the reason for my spells of tenderness was not that anything was wrong with me, but that I felt there was something wrong with her--and my loving behavior was an attempt to correct the flaw in her, and in our lives."
After one traumatic stillbirth, Anna gives birth to a daughter whom she and Jakob name Eeva. They never have any more children, and their marriage remains happy enough, in spite of Jakob's awareness that he doesn't love and never has loved Anna.
There are many themes in this monumental achievement, and one wonders what message Kross intended the reader to come away with. There are elements of a detective story, and an afterword that explains to the reader how much of the book was inspired by real people and true events. But, to me, love and truth are at the heart of The Czar's Madman. "No principles in this world are more enduring than these," Timo writes in the closing paragraphs of his memorandum. We must ask: how strong is the connection between love and truth? Can there be one without the other? Or are they bound together just as surely as the threads of this mesmerizing book? Like all truly great authors, Kross gives the reader much to ponder over, and, even when the book ends, we can't help but wonder whether or not some mysteries aren't meant to be solved.
The Czar's Madman was published in 1978. The Estonian author, Jaan Kross, has written and published several other important works of fiction, among them the highly acclaimed Professor Marten's Departure. Kross was born in Estonia in 1920 and was arrested and kept in exile from 1946 until 1955.
I extend my heartfelt thanks to Eric Dickens, who brought this novel to my attention. Without you, Eric, I would never have discovered Estonian literature, which is one of my new passions. The high regard I have for your expertise when it comes to Estonian literature is only equal to the admiration I feel for you as a person. I appreciate your broadening my horizons and introducing me to authors whom I would never have found if left to my own devices. Many, many thanks.
~Titania
"...the world is really so much smaller than we think, and the
probability of unlikely coincidences infinitely greater than it appears."
~Jaan Kross, The Czar's Madman
translated by Anselm Hollo
My rating: *****++
"Is it not--when all is said and done--the case, with regard to all the events of the world, that every visible occurrence is also, or perhaps merely, a hint of invisible connections, of some invisible worlds?"
So writes Jakob Mittak, the author of the journal that is the centerpiece of Jaan Kross's tour de force, The Czar's Madman. With heartwrenching prose, Kross sweeps the reader through 355 pages of historical mayhem and family drama (much of which is loosely based on actual events). Though the writing is dense and intricate, it is never dull. The "madman" of the book's title is Timotheus von Bock, an Estonian nobleman who was once a good friend and confidante of Czar Alexander I. After he marries a peasant woman, Eeva, bringing scandal to his family and to fellow aristocrats, he proceeds to denounce the Czar, whose tyrannical behavior he can no longer condone. In a gesture that seems purely impulsive, he sends a letter to the Czar, explaining to him what is wrong with his rule. For this capricious deed, Timotheus pays dearly. He is arrested and taken away to a high-security prison, where he spends the next nine years of his life.
The images of Timotheus, or Timo, as he is most frequently called, locked away for nearly a decade remain with the reader long after the book ends. At the start of the book Timo has just been released from prison. Older than his years, with greying hair and no teeth, he is a tragic representation of what those in power will do to someone who dares to defy their authority. His wife, Eeeva, has never forgotten him. Their love is more powerful than anything that can separate them. At one point, a friend of both Eeeva and Timo observes:
"Nothing is stronger than love. I know it is love that gives you strength, Eeeva; I have seen that. And you, too, Timo--love is the ground you stand on...."
Eeeva and Timo's son, Juri, is another link that binds them. Born while Timo was in prison, the young boy is a source of hope for both parents.
As the narrator skillfully weaves this unforgettable story, using threads of many colors, he draws the reader into an embroidered masterpiece of intrigue, mystery, and deceit. His journal entries are often dry and concise, giving the reader the opportunity to draw his or her own conclusions from the subtle details he hints at.
Although Jakob Mattik remains somewhat detached from all that goes on around him, his objectivity is what makes this novel work. We never doubt that he will make an honest assessment of Timo's conduct, nor are we ever left feeling that he will allow his emotions to get the best of him. He remains the stoical observer, reporting on events rather than sharing his biased views about what occurs.
Interspersed with the tale of Timo's life, Jakob offers us glimpses at his own existence--his affair with the beguiling Itte, for example, whom he seduces and deserts. Although he decides, later on, that he really did love Itte, at the time he ends his relationship with her, he confesses, "To put it bluntly, my love for her (Itte) had been found wanting."
When he meets the woman who becomes his wife, Anna Klaasen, he is attracted to her because she isn't like the other women he's accustomed to.
"..she...appeared to regard, with a kind of amused indifference those affairs of particular interest to the women (and even the ladies) of the community."
Although he had no plans to marry prior to meeting Anna, her artlessness beguiles him. He announces proudly, "Anna...is completely without affectation, insofar as I know anything about the female nature." At the same time, he is disturbed by Anna's ardor, feeling that it "shows that she has had previous experiences."
Although this romance may seem irrelevant in light of Timo's tortured life, the theme of love and loss is a strong thread that runs throughout the novel. For Timo, nine years have been lost--nine years that changed the course of his life. And all of these years were spent away from Eeva, the woman whom he loves more than anything in the world. For Jakob, his marriage to Anna forces him to confront the feelings he never admitted he had for Iette. As the novel progresses, unfolding like a panorama of copious pictures, Jakob admits his mistake, saying:
"I loved Iette. I won't conceal that anymore, at least not on these pages. I love her still. Four years ago, I sent her away because of her father...Now, if I told someone this, he might say to me, 'Well, that meant you didn't love her enough...To which I would answer, 'Surely great love does not mean complete blindness?'"
Indeed, Jakob is not blind. Even when he demonstrates affection towards his wife, he's well aware of the fact that his heart belongs somewhere else.
"....I realized that the reason for my spells of tenderness was not that anything was wrong with me, but that I felt there was something wrong with her--and my loving behavior was an attempt to correct the flaw in her, and in our lives."
After one traumatic stillbirth, Anna gives birth to a daughter whom she and Jakob name Eeva. They never have any more children, and their marriage remains happy enough, in spite of Jakob's awareness that he doesn't love and never has loved Anna.
There are many themes in this monumental achievement, and one wonders what message Kross intended the reader to come away with. There are elements of a detective story, and an afterword that explains to the reader how much of the book was inspired by real people and true events. But, to me, love and truth are at the heart of The Czar's Madman. "No principles in this world are more enduring than these," Timo writes in the closing paragraphs of his memorandum. We must ask: how strong is the connection between love and truth? Can there be one without the other? Or are they bound together just as surely as the threads of this mesmerizing book? Like all truly great authors, Kross gives the reader much to ponder over, and, even when the book ends, we can't help but wonder whether or not some mysteries aren't meant to be solved.
The Czar's Madman was published in 1978. The Estonian author, Jaan Kross, has written and published several other important works of fiction, among them the highly acclaimed Professor Marten's Departure. Kross was born in Estonia in 1920 and was arrested and kept in exile from 1946 until 1955.
I extend my heartfelt thanks to Eric Dickens, who brought this novel to my attention. Without you, Eric, I would never have discovered Estonian literature, which is one of my new passions. The high regard I have for your expertise when it comes to Estonian literature is only equal to the admiration I feel for you as a person. I appreciate your broadening my horizons and introducing me to authors whom I would never have found if left to my own devices. Many, many thanks.
~Titania
"...the world is really so much smaller than we think, and the
probability of unlikely coincidences infinitely greater than it appears."
~Jaan Kross, The Czar's Madman
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