Tales of Old Vilnius
Сказки Старого Вильнюса
by Макс Фрай
Some say this book (books, really, because there are several, seven or more) is Science Fiction. I don`t think so. It is not Fantasy, either, in the proper sense, at least. The best definition is the one used by the author: tales. Just tales.
The book (I mean books, but in this particular case Sg. seems to be preferable to Pl., because there is no point in describing each one separately) is nonsense, but the nonsense is fabulous! Nothing like the nonsense by Lear, or Adams, or even Bisset… Well, Bisset is kind-hearted, too, but being kind-hearted in the world of children is easier than in the Adult World. Old Vilnius`s kindness, or maybe love, is different.
There is no plot. There is no protagonist. No definite beginning and no proper ending, either. Each and every of the apparently random dramatis personae is important. But the most important one is Old Vilnius; one might well say it is The City that`s the protagonist.
Old Vilnius is benevolent and helpful and eager to please, sometimes overly so. Unless you hate it, in which case it will show you its ugly side. Luckily, it is also forgiving. Stop hating it, and it will turn the old friendly place again. This seems to apply to the Old City only, not the modern areas surrounding it; even the borderland, where Old Vilnius is not sure whether it`s still itself or already some modern thing, can be dangerous to the unwary…
The inhabitants (humans, animals, ghosts, tricksters, a cat that`s a dog named Cat, whatnot) are also mostly friendly even if more or less crazy, and helpful, and good company, for adventurers in particular. A few of them are even considerate, like, say, an Angel of Death. Many are egocentric (not malevolently, though), wonder-workers especially. All of them colourful, each in a different way, because they are different – humans and non-humans, young and old, rich enough to buy realty in the centre of a capital city and poor to the point of having to choose between breakfast and some coffee. But none of them is dull! Even them that think themselves dull or ugly or useless eventually find out they are not – thanks to the helpful City, most probably.
Then there are dreams, as vivid as or even more vivid than waking life. They can be dangerous, too, as you might get lost in a dream, unable to get back to your waking self, and what then? What if it is a nightmare? So they have the Dream Police to rescue hapless sleepers and to fight Dream Crimes, Nightmare Smuggling included. The very Old City is most probably a dream of an ancient Duke sleeping under a hill and dreaming Vilnius on, therefore folks should better not try to wake him, because if he wakes up, the City will disappear, buildings, citizens, denizens, visitors and all…
Trying to describe the numerous adventures and happenings is a task nigh impossible, so I won`t even start. But this I promise: the book is well worth reading! It`s like a breath of fresh crisp fragrant air in a dusty stuffy though vast warehouse of uncaring Reality. Concerning reality, by the way: what if the stories are not invented, after all? The illustrations – photos of old buildings – show buildings really existing, bar those that might have been demolished by now. Each tale has to do with a real street. Years ago, I used to walk some of the streets and occasionally stumble upon small miracles… Then again, sunlight seeping through stained-glass windows makes things look different, but does it make the things any less real? Maybe “Tales of Old Vilnius” are just stained-glass windows?
For a reason I cannot fathom, other books by the same author seem to be much more popular than “Tales”… Some of the “Echo” series have been even translated into English. Well, the “Echo” books are not bad, but they lack something quite unspeakable that can only be found in the “Tales”. Another thing I find strange yet pleasurable is the books have been neither banned nor censored heavily. By modern mores, smoking seems to be more readily punishable than any crime except perhaps tax evasion, yet most of the depicted humans and some of the non-humans smoke!
A caveat, just in case: I`ve only read four of the Old Vilnius books; from about the middle of the fourth one, something I cannot quite put my finger on seems to veer towards “proper” SF. I`m not sure I like it, and I cannot be sure if the rest of the “Tales” are as wonderful as the first three books or just common SF.
© Dodo