Dad And His Children
Tėtis ir jo vaikai
by Rimantas Budrys
This one is a phenomenon, that it is! A book for both children and grown-ups, it is written in such a peculiar manner it`s likely to baffle the reader reading it for the first time. At first, one might think it`s a strange mess…
It starts with a summer evening. Dad and his three children are walking through a green field to see a golden oriole flying to Dad`s oak, maybe in search of a golden leaf hidden amongst the green leaves. You might have to read and re-read the few pages before it dawns on you it is one and the same episode related from the point of view of Dad, then from the point of view of his son, then the other son, and then the little daughter. Each one sees a different scene, each one thinks different thoughts, yet all is beauty and tranquility for each of them separately and for all of them together. A special kind of togetherness…
The wonderful summer ends (and the book does, too) under the very same oak. Many a thing has happened in between. Lots of fun, some sadness, lots of pleasant adventures, a few not very pleasant things; but even when they have not been “all good” (capers happen by themselves, to be sure!), the children can count on love and understanding on the part of their Dad and Mum and most other grown-ups they meet. So this is a book about the much-needed understanding, as well.
A most wonderful book, full of love, this book would surely be, but for a trifle… An important trifle, though. For me, at least, it makes a gross fly in the ointment. The Dad, and the author of the book, a great lover of nature, finds it self-evident that Man should have a right to shoot a roe because it has destroyed a tree in his garden. Fortunately for the roe, Dad`s younger son talks his Dad out of that. And of course cats are evil, because they kill birds… How`s that for the all-embracing love and understanding? Ambiguous, I`d say…
Oh well, nothing`s perfect. Nobody`s perfect, that`s for sure. In spite of what I would name a certain hypocrisy, the book is well worth both reading and translating. Me being faultfinding does not mean others should be alike...
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