Fall Comes from the Forest

Description: Set in the deep woods and bogs of northern Lithuania in the period between the two World Wars, this is the tragic story of a young man struggling to find a place for himself in the world. In the winter, Tilius and his friend Petras work as lumberjacks, but as the spring thaws arrive, Tilius loses his chance at a post as a border guard when he gets into a brawl with the lumber company representative. Instead, he accepts a job as a hired hand at the nearby Doveika farm. Caught between his love for the innocent young Agne and the seductions of his mistress Monika, Tilius is buffeted by circumstances and his confusing and sometimes uncontrollable emotions. With lame herdsman Laurynas keeping guard, the story flows through the seasons to its inevitable conclusion. Written in exile in the United States ten years after the author fled war in his native land, this book in many ways is a love letter to a country and a life left behind.

About the author: Marius Katiliskis (Albinas Marius Vaitkus) was born in Gruzdziai, Lithuania, and was part of the generation of writers who fled Lithuania to the West as the Soviets advanced in 1944. The ninth of eleven children, he worked in a library before being conscripted into the army. He emigrated to the United States in 1949 and worked at numerous menial jobs before his death in 1980. His work has been honored by a number of Lithuanian-American organizations.

Birute Slezas has been active in the Lithuanian-American community as a radio and theater producer, actor, and translator.

Format: Paperback, 426 pages, in English. Publisher: Pica Pica Press, 2022 ISBN-10 099663049X