Armin Kõomägi
Autor(a) de Lui Vutoon : romaan
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Obras por Armin Kõomägi
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The Estonian Short Story 2018
Review of the Estonian language hardcover edition
Eesti novell 2018 (Estonian Short Story 2018) is planned as a curated annual anthology of stories by Estonian writers. It is projected to be a 100-year series lasting from 2018 (the year of Estonia’s 100th anniversary of Independence) to 2117 (on the eve of the 200th anniversary of Independence). This 1st in the series was published in early October 2018 and collects 14 stories from throughout the year 2017. These were first published mostly in the literary journals Looming (Creation) and Vikerkaar (Rainbow). Further entries in the series are planned to be published in the Spring, i.e. Eesti novell 2019 would come out in roughly April-May 2019 and will collect the best of 2018, etc.
A 100-year-old classic story is promised as a bonus in each volume, in this present case it is Inimesesööjad (Cannibals) by Friedebert Tuglas from 1917. As chance would have it, the latter story is also translated into English in "The Poet and the Idiot, and Other Stories". Aside from being one of the classic triumvirate of Estonian writers alongside Anton Hansen Tammsaare and Oskar Luts, Tuglas is especially associated with the short story and an annual Tuglas Short Story Prize has been awarded to 2 Estonian short stories since 1971, the year of his passing. The inclusion of the Tuglas prize winners is guaranteed in all future volumes. For 2017, these are Auk (The Hole) by Lilli Luuk and Goglomov by Armin Kõomägi.
I thoroughly enjoyed the variety of this collection and found it to be a great opportunity to encounter several writers who were entirely new to me. This is especially so as being a foreign born Estonian reader it is difficult for me to follow all of the emerging writers from a distance with subscriptions to journals being prohibitively expensive. I don't want to rate individual stories, but Auk (The Hole) was the standout for me, with Elajad (The Living) having the most shock value in its twist reveal and Kasuksepp (The Furrier) having the most bizarre fantastical premise.
Mild Spoilers ahead. I only discuss the setups of most of the stories without disclosing the endings, but some may consider these spoilers, so I've blocked it accordingly.
1. Paul by Jüri Kolk. A man defrauded at a non-existent nightclub in the woods persists in chasing down the scammer.
2. Qiaotou nööp (Quiatou Button) by Mudlum. This is not a conventional story. It is a dream-like memoir / recounting of various old time objects hidden away in chests and attics.
3. Jaama 12 by Mart Kivastik. A gallery owner encounters a painting of a house whose address is Jaama 12, painted by an artist whose work they had previously rejected.
4. Viimsepäeva laupäeva hommikul (In the Morning of the Saturday of the Day of Judgement) by Martti Kalda. A prophet goes to town to mail packages of religious tracts and relics (which are drily commented on by the postal clerk) and then wanders back to his island retreat while the world ends all around him.
5. Auk (The Hole) by Lilli Luuk. Memoirs of a girl and her sister from their childhood in 1988. The title refers to a hole dug in a sand quarry nearby to where they are living. This is very much in the style of Viivi Luik's now classic Seitsmes rahukevad (The Seventh Spring of Peace) (1985) and has that same childlike expressiveness to it. Mysteriously, this is the only published work of Lilli Luuk, which is presumably a pseudonym that parodies Viivi Luik's name with a few letter replacements. It seem unlikely that Luik herself would be writing this now, but who knows?
6. Vanaisa ja metsavennad (Grandfather and the Forest Brothers) by Andrus Kivirähk. This is Kivirähk in his satirical style with a boy's memoir of his grandfather who would build bunker shelters in the woods in the hopes that Estonian anti-Soviet guerilla fighters (called the Forest Brothers) would inhabit them.
7. Kasuksepp (The Furrier) by Meelis Friedenthal. Alternate reality/fantasy where it is the middle of the Reformation but it is in a reality where the Catholic Church has made a truce with the demons holding people in Purgatory and a group of fur tailors in Estonia take the sacrament in order to transform themselves into werewolves in order to enter Purgatory to battle the demons and to break the truce. Yes, it is as crazy as it sounds. Think of it as a sort of Underworld film mythology except with good werewolves vs. bad demons.
8. Elajad (The Living) by Mari-Liis Müürsepp. I won’t say anything about this one except that it comes with a terrific twist once you realize what it is about.
9. Sült (Meat Jelly) by Janar Ala. Structured as faux dictionary definitions, each paragraph is based around a word associated with the making or eating of "sült" (meat jelly), a traditional Estonian food.
10. Vulva klubi (Vulva Club) by Margit Lõhmus. Berlin nightclub crawler prowls various locales. Written with occasional texting-era Estonian abbreviations such as vb for võibolla (perhaps) etc.
11. Arno, isa, koolimaja ja tunnid (Arno, his Father, the Schoolhouse and Classes) by Donald Tomberg. Beckettian parody taking the opening sentence premise of Oskar Luts’ Kevade where Arno is late for school and extending it into a daily Sisyphean scenario where Arno and his father are perpetually late for school every day. Written in theatrical play form in 15 scenes.
12. Lõvi (Lion) by Juhan Voolaid. Estonian couple on an African safari encounter a talking lion who was raised in a circus. Sort of Hemingway "Green Hills of Africa" meets Yoko Tawada's "Diary of a Polar Bear."
13. Goglomov (Goglomov) by Armin Kõomägi. Mysterious stranger comes to a town N and advertises his services on a street flyer by saying "Pikutan paar tundi teie diivanil." (I will recline on your couch for a few hours). Various women take him up on his offer with various expectations.
14. Suure Poobsi vaikus (Big Poobs’ Silence) by Mihkel Mutt. Again, not a conventional story. It starts off like an editorial that asks why a character named Poobs has kept a public silence about an un-named issue.
15. Inimesesööjad (Cannibals) by Friedebert Tuglas. A gang of children that play various tribal games encounter life and death.
Review of the Estonian language hardcover edition
Eesti novell 2018 (Estonian Short Story 2018) is planned as a curated annual anthology of stories by Estonian writers. It is projected to be a 100-year series lasting from 2018 (the year of Estonia’s 100th anniversary of Independence) to 2117 (on the eve of the 200th anniversary of Independence). This 1st in the series was published in early October 2018 and collects 14 stories from throughout the year 2017. These were first published mostly in the literary journals Looming (Creation) and Vikerkaar (Rainbow). Further entries in the series are planned to be published in the Spring, i.e. Eesti novell 2019 would come out in roughly April-May 2019 and will collect the best of 2018, etc.
A 100-year-old classic story is promised as a bonus in each volume, in this present case it is Inimesesööjad (Cannibals) by Friedebert Tuglas from 1917. As chance would have it, the latter story is also translated into English in "The Poet and the Idiot, and Other Stories". Aside from being one of the classic triumvirate of Estonian writers alongside Anton Hansen Tammsaare and Oskar Luts, Tuglas is especially associated with the short story and an annual Tuglas Short Story Prize has been awarded to 2 Estonian short stories since 1971, the year of his passing. The inclusion of the Tuglas prize winners is guaranteed in all future volumes. For 2017, these are Auk (The Hole) by Lilli Luuk and Goglomov by Armin Kõomägi.
I thoroughly enjoyed the variety of this collection and found it to be a great opportunity to encounter several writers who were entirely new to me. This is especially so as being a foreign born Estonian reader it is difficult for me to follow all of the emerging writers from a distance with subscriptions to journals being prohibitively expensive. I don't want to rate individual stories, but Auk (The Hole) was the standout for me, with Elajad (The Living) having the most shock value in its twist reveal and Kasuksepp (The Furrier) having the most bizarre fantastical premise.
Mild Spoilers ahead. I only discuss the setups of most of the stories without disclosing the endings, but some may consider these spoilers, so I've blocked it accordingly.
1. Paul by Jüri Kolk. A man defrauded at a non-existent nightclub in the woods persists in chasing down the scammer.
2. Qiaotou nööp (Quiatou Button) by Mudlum. This is not a conventional story. It is a dream-like memoir / recounting of various old time objects hidden away in chests and attics.
3. Jaama 12 by Mart Kivastik. A gallery owner encounters a painting of a house whose address is Jaama 12, painted by an artist whose work they had previously rejected.
4. Viimsepäeva laupäeva hommikul (In the Morning of the Saturday of the Day of Judgement) by Martti Kalda. A prophet goes to town to mail packages of religious tracts and relics (which are drily commented on by the postal clerk) and then wanders back to his island retreat while the world ends all around him.
5. Auk (The Hole) by Lilli Luuk. Memoirs of a girl and her sister from their childhood in 1988. The title refers to a hole dug in a sand quarry nearby to where they are living. This is very much in the style of Viivi Luik's now classic Seitsmes rahukevad (The Seventh Spring of Peace) (1985) and has that same childlike expressiveness to it. Mysteriously, this is the only published work of Lilli Luuk, which is presumably a pseudonym that parodies Viivi Luik's name with a few letter replacements. It seem unlikely that Luik herself would be writing this now, but who knows?
6. Vanaisa ja metsavennad (Grandfather and the Forest Brothers) by Andrus Kivirähk. This is Kivirähk in his satirical style with a boy's memoir of his grandfather who would build bunker shelters in the woods in the hopes that Estonian anti-Soviet guerilla fighters (called the Forest Brothers) would inhabit them.
7. Kasuksepp (The Furrier) by Meelis Friedenthal. Alternate reality/fantasy where it is the middle of the Reformation but it is in a reality where the Catholic Church has made a truce with the demons holding people in Purgatory and a group of fur tailors in Estonia take the sacrament in order to transform themselves into werewolves in order to enter Purgatory to battle the demons and to break the truce. Yes, it is as crazy as it sounds. Think of it as a sort of Underworld film mythology except with good werewolves vs. bad demons.
8. Elajad (The Living) by Mari-Liis Müürsepp. I won’t say anything about this one except that it comes with a terrific twist once you realize what it is about.
9. Sült (Meat Jelly) by Janar Ala. Structured as faux dictionary definitions, each paragraph is based around a word associated with the making or eating of "sült" (meat jelly), a traditional Estonian food.
10. Vulva klubi (Vulva Club) by Margit Lõhmus. Berlin nightclub crawler prowls various locales. Written with occasional texting-era Estonian abbreviations such as vb for võibolla (perhaps) etc.
11. Arno, isa, koolimaja ja tunnid (Arno, his Father, the Schoolhouse and Classes) by Donald Tomberg. Beckettian parody taking the opening sentence premise of Oskar Luts’ Kevade where Arno is late for school and extending it into a daily Sisyphean scenario where Arno and his father are perpetually late for school every day. Written in theatrical play form in 15 scenes.
12. Lõvi (Lion) by Juhan Voolaid. Estonian couple on an African safari encounter a talking lion who was raised in a circus. Sort of Hemingway "Green Hills of Africa" meets Yoko Tawada's "Diary of a Polar Bear."
13. Goglomov (Goglomov) by Armin Kõomägi. Mysterious stranger comes to a town N and advertises his services on a street flyer by saying "Pikutan paar tundi teie diivanil." (I will recline on your couch for a few hours). Various women take him up on his offer with various expectations.
14. Suure Poobsi vaikus (Big Poobs’ Silence) by Mihkel Mutt. Again, not a conventional story. It starts off like an editorial that asks why a character named Poobs has kept a public silence about an un-named issue.
15. Inimesesööjad (Cannibals) by Friedebert Tuglas. A gang of children that play various tribal games encounter life and death.
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Associated Authors
Estatísticas
- Obras
- 9
- Also by
- 1
- Membros
- 34
- Popularidade
- #413,653
- Avaliação
- 3.4
- Críticas
- 2
- ISBN
- 9
Review of the Looomingu Raamatukogu paperback edition (September 2020)
Armin Kõomägi's style is the 3-4 page short-short story which is usually satirical or ventures into the surreal. They often take unexpected tangents but they still have enough basis in reality to be a comment on our current life and culture. Sometimes they come with bizarre dark humour such as the stories of a murderous Roomba lawnmower or of the young bull calf whose dreams of procreation are cruelly cut short. A future space-age scavenger is seen to be picking up the debris from a future United States of Amazon. A future Estonian Prime Minister auctions off the entire country with the proceeds to be divided throughout the population in order to make everyone in the country rich.
There has been hardly any Kõomägi in translation yet, but I would think that his cynical humour would translate fairly well internationally without the need for extensive footnotes.
Trivia and Link
To the best of my knowledge, there is only a single translation of an Armin Kõomägi short story in English to date. This is Logisticians Anonymous which appeared in Best European Fiction 2012 (2011) ed, Aleksandar Hemon. The translation is reproduced at the Estonian Literature Centre website here.… (mais)