Regīna Ezera (née Regīna Kindzule, 1930–2002) was born in Rīga. Ezera graduated from the Department of Journalism at the University of Latvia and published her first literary work in 1955. From the 1960s onwards her primary occupation was writing. Her most well-known works are the novels Aka (The Well; 1972) – which was adapted into the highly popular film Ezera sonāte (The Lake Sonata; 1976), Zemdegas (Smouldering Fires; 1977), Varmācība (Violence; 1982), Nodevība (Betrayal; 1984), and the short story collections Slazds (The Trap; 1979), Princeses fenomens (The Princess Phenomenon; 1985) and Pūķa ola (Dragon’s Egg; 1995). Considered a master of what could be called “silent drama” as well as nuanced psychological portraits, she pays great attention to detail in human relationships and often uses parallels with the animal world, exploring the interaction between man and animal. She blurred the line between psycho-realist and postmodernist fiction in the novels Zemdegas, Varmācība and Nodevība, deconstructing the plot and incorporating her own persona and reflections about writing. Her works have been translated into German, Swedish, Estonian, Italian and other languages.
Collections of Stories
Stāsti un noveles [Stories and Novels]. Riga: Zvaigzne ABC, 2000.
Pūķa ola [Dragon's Egg]. Riga: Preses nams, 1995.
Pie klusiem ūdeņiem [At the Silent Waters]. Riga: Liesma, 1987.
Princeses fenomens [Princess Phenomenon]. Riga: Liesma, 1985.
Baraviku laika dullums [Madness of Penny Bun Season]. Riga: Liesma, 1978.
Grieze, trakais putns [Corn crake, a crazy bird]. Riga: Liesma, 1970.
Aiztek Gaujas ūdeņi, aiztek [Gauja water flows away, flows away]. Riga: Liesma, 1968.
Daugavas stāsti [The Stories of Daugava]. Riga: Latvijas Valsts izdevniecība, 1965.
Un ceļš vēl kūp [The Road is Steaming]. Riga: Latvijas Valsts izdevniecība, 1961.
Novels
Nodevība [Betrayal]. Riga: Liesma, 1984.
Varmācība [Violence]. Riga: Liesma, 1982.
Zemdegas [Smouldering Fires]. Riga: Liesma, 1977.
Aka [The Well]. Riga: Liesma, 1972.
Dzilnas sila balāde [The Ballad of Pine forest's Woodpecker]. Riga: Liesma, 1968.
Mežābele: Klāva Mazputniņa atvaļinājuma piezīmes [Crab-apple: Vacation Notes of Klāvs Mazputniņš]. Riga: Liesma, 1966.
Viņas bija trīs [They Were Three]. Riga: Latvijas Valsts izdevniecība, 1963.
Prose
Slazds [Trap]. Riga: Liesma, 1979.
Cilvēkam vajag suni [Man needs Dog]. Riga: Liesma, 1975.
Vasara bija tikai vienu dienu [Summer lasted only one day]. Riga: Liesma, 1974.
Pavasara pērkons [Spring's Thunder]. Riga: Liesma, 1973.
Nakts bez mēnesnīcas [Moonless Night]. Riga: Liesma, 1971.
Stāsts ar laimīgām beigām [Story with a Happy Ending]. Riga: Liesma, 1969.
Autobiographical Prose
Mazliet patiesības. Nedaudz melu [Bits of Truth. Bits of Lies]. Riga: Likteņstāsti, 1997.
Varbūt tā nebūs vairs nekad [Maybe it will never be the same again]. Riga: Preses nams, 1997.
Visticamāk, ka ne... Stundu kalendārs [Most likely no... Hour calendar]. Riga: Liesma, 1993.
Books to fall for
The Well
The Well (Aka)
The novel The Well begins on the shores of a lake in the height of summer. Rudolf, a doctor from Rīga, is looking forward to spending some time away from work and plans to spend the time fishing on his own while lodging with an elderly couple on a lake. He comes into contact with the neighbours next door, the Tomariņi family, when he borrows their boat for his fishing trips. He meets Laura and her two children, Zaiga and Māris, her mother-in-law Alvīne and her sister-in-law Vija. For Laura, this encounter is a reminder of her wasted life, one of self-denial and her attempts to honour her responsibilities. For her children, it is a reminder of how much they lack a father figure. Attraction blooms between the quiet, slightly standoffish Laura and the confident, successful Rudolf, yet from the very beginning there is the feeling that the relationship is doomed. A crucial part of the story is the presence, or rather absence, of Laura’s husband Rihard, who is in prison for the murder of a friend he killed on a hunting trip while drunk. The fact that Rihard is soon to be released casts a shadow over any attraction Laura and Rudolf might have for each other. Rihard, from a distance and through his circumstances, has forced Laura to play the roles of perfect mother, perfect wife, and strong woman. Regīna Ezera skillfully blends the lives of all these people together, showing how the sins and life events of previous generations can echo and reverberate through the lives of their children and grandchildren.
Contact: info@akka-laa.lv
TheWell_by_R.Ezera.pdf
Title
:The Well
Title*
:Aka
Authors
:Genre
:Fiction
Publisher
:Liesma
Pages
:272
Year
:1972
Foreign rights
:AKKA/LAA
Smouldering Fires
Smouldering Fires (Zemdegas)
Smouldering Fires, which the author herself referred to as a “phantasmagoria”, was Regīna Ezera’s sixth novel. It is composed of six stories, all of which take place in the small town of Mūrgale, and the main characters of each tale die at the end due to various coincidences. The novel culminates in the sixth story, where the reader learns that all of the earlier stories were a vision seen by the author. Ezera then speaks directly about creativity and about the relationship between literature and literary criticism, and the story includes a conversation between the author and a young journalist as well as with a stubborn colleague at the literary museum who ends up causing the author’s death. This novel is unusual in Latvian literature, because Ezera dared to make it less of a description of Mūrgale and its people, and more about her relationship with literature and the development of the novel’s fictionalised form. In this novel as well as in nearly all of Ezera’s works, one encounters the motif of the “tormenting past”: several characters have an event or transgression from their past that torments them, causing them to feel guilt and to suffer as a result. Aside from a postmodern resolution not seen in other Soviet-era literature, this novel’s most powerful aspect is found in its nuanced descriptions of the fates of individual characters and the complexities of their relationships.
Contact: info@akka-laa.lv
SmoulderingFires_by_R.Ezera.pdf
Title
:Smouldering Fires
Title*
:Zemdegas
Authors
:Genre
:Fiction
Publisher
:Liesma
Pages
:414
Year
:1977
Foreign rights
:AKKA/LAA
Margherita Carbonaro about translating The Well // Tradurre: pratiche teorie strumenti, 2020 [IT]
About love letters of Regīna Ezera // Diena.lv, 2004 [LV]
About Most likely no... Hour calendar // Rīgas Laiks [LV]
Carlo Simoni. Stories of dogs and owners, review Man needs a dog // Secondorizzonte, May 2023
Stefano Zangrando. That simple care of emotional ties to the test of time, review "Man needs a dog" // ilmanifesto.it, February 2023 [IT]
Rita Bompadre. Review Regīna Ezera. Man needs a dog // Satisfiction, 2023 [IT]
Review Regīna Ezera. Man needs a dog // Mangialibri, 2023 [IT]
Cristiana Abbate. European literary itinerary. Latvia // Senzalinea, February 2022 [IT]
Silvia Castellani, review of The Well // Satisfiction, 2020 [IT]
Paola Calefato, review of The Well // My Po blog, 2020 [IT]
Dama Con L'unicorno, “Il pozzo”: nelle profondità della vita interiore, review of The Well // Il Rifugio Dell'Ircocervo, 2020 [IT]
Giorgio Mascitelli, Un pozzo in Lettonia, review of The Well // Nazione Indiana, 2020 [IT]
Luca Scarlini, Tra l’acqua e la «biscia» dei baltici la storia d’amore di Regina Ezera, review of The Well // Il Manifesto, 2019 [IT]
Guntis Berelis, Izšķirošā žesta māksla, review of Burning Heaths // Guntis Berelis blog, 2012 [LV]
Guntis Berelis, review of Maybe it will never be the same again // Guntis Berelis blog, 1997 [LV]
In print
2020_Ezera_Liberta_Il_Pozzo.pdf
2020_Ezera_Lottavo_Il_Pozzo.pdf
2020_Ezera_Blog_di_Pina_Bertoli_Il_Pozzo.pdf
2020_Ezera_Giornale_di_Sicilia_Il_Pozzo.pdf
2020_Ezera_Corriere_della_Sera_Il_Pozzo.pdf
2020_Ezera_LeggIndipendente_Il_Pozzo.pdf
1995, The Order of the Three Stars
1986, Order of the Red Flag of Labour
1981, Poeple's Writer of LSSR
1974, Cultural Worker of LSSR
1972, LSSR State Award
1968, Eduards Veidenbaums Literary Award for The Ballad of Pine forest's Woodpecker
Il pozzo
Il pozzo (Aka)
Title
: Il pozzoTitle*
: AkaAuthors
:Translated by
:Genre
:Fiction
Language
:Italian
Publisher
:Iperborea, Italy
Pages
:352
Year
:2019
Copyrights
:The author, the publisher
Synopsis
:The author skillfully blends the lives of all these people together, showing how the sins and life events of previous generations can echo and reverberate through the lives of their children and grandchildren.
L’uomo ha bisogno del cane
L’uomo ha bisogno del cane (Cilvēkam vajag suni)
Title
: L’uomo ha bisogno del caneTitle*
: Cilvēkam vajag suniAuthors
:Translated by
:Genre
:Fiction
Language
:Italian
Publisher
:Ibis srl di Veronesi & C.
Pages
:144
Year
:2022
Copyrights
:the author
Synopsis
:This story and collection of short stories is multifaceted, vividly revealing human psychology, capturing both the characters' physical feelings and their thoughts, emotions and experiences.
Baltic Belles: The Dedalus Book of Latvian Women's Literature
Baltic Belles: The Dedalus Book of Latvian Women's Literature (Antoloģija)
Title
: Baltic Belles: The Dedalus Book of Latvian Women's LiteratureTitle*
: AntoloģijaAuthors
: , , , , , , , , , , ,Genre
:Anthology
Language
:English
Publisher
:https://www.dedalusbooks.com
Pages
:308
Year
:2022
Copyrights
:the author
Synopsis
:This anthology is the first of its kind in English to show a fuller spectrum of Latvian women's writing spanning more than a century.
A por el mar. Relatos letones contemporáneos
A por el mar. Relatos letones contemporáneos (Stāstu antoloģija)
Title
: A por el mar. Relatos letones contemporáneosTitle*
: Stāstu antoloģijaAuthors
: , , , , , , , ,Translated by
:Genre
:Anthology
Language
:Spanish
Publisher
:Báltica Editorial
Pages
:238
Year
:2023
Copyrights
:The authors