Dace Rukšāne

Bibliography

Krieva āda [Russian Skin]. Riga: Dienas Grāmata, 2020.

Latviskais laimes kods [The Latvian Happiness Code]. Riga: Zvaigzne ABC, 2018.

Mīlasstāsti [Love Stories]. Riga: Zvaigzne ABC, 2015.

Ķīpsalas putni [Birds of Ķīpsala]. Riga: Dienas grāmata, 2009.

Sarunas par attiecībām [Conversations about Relationships]. Riga: Dienas grāmata, 2008.

Simts seksīgas sestdienas [A Hundred Sexy Saturdays]. Riga: Dienas grāmata, 2005.

Kāpēc tu raudāji? [Why Did You Cry?] Riga: Atēna, 2003.

Beatrises gultas stāsti [Bedtime Stories of Beatrice]. Rīga: Atēna, 2002.

Romāniņš [The Little Love Affair]. Riga: Atēna, 2002.

Books to fall for

Love Stories

Love Stories (Mīlasstāsti )

Love Stories, as the title suggests, are stories elucidating upon the subject of love. But readers may search in vain for classic, sentimental “pieces” as well as the literary provocations so characteristic of the author some years ago. These loves stories might be defined as a consciously toned down, profound book, rich in a quest for hidden issues of the human essence, revealing them delicately yet avoiding their brutal elimination. That is love – love imagined, unanswered,
denied, accepted with and without conditions (which are often very peculiar conditions). Here, love is portrayed through the use of different images – animals, things, imagined landscapes. Love that is, often without even being aware of it, transformed into its opposite. The author’s protagonists are both younger and older women that play out the only lives given to them in their own unique ways – the author leaves them to it, at times sliding into the surreal as well as fantasy and horror. Every story is almost a stand-alone, polished life episode, but the book forms a uniform whole – a sensitive, sharp insight into a woman’s world (including her everyday life and chores) within the reality of the modern world.

Contacts: Bārbala Simsone, barbala.simsone@zvaigzne.lv

LoveStories_by_D.Ruksane.pdf

The Little Love Affair

The Little Love Affair (Romāniņš)

In this novel we meet Taņa, a young Latvian woman on an intense quest for her own identity. As the novel unfolds, Taņa’s search becomes intertwined with the responsibility she feels for her children, falling in love and being in love, her countless losses and rebirths. After she is abandoned by her husband, Taņa suddenly finds herself alone with three children. She plunges into adventures – losing herself, then finding herself again. She gets involved in various messes, but never hangs her head; she is the character who might cry briefly, but then always gets up, dusts herself off with a smile, and carries on. The Little Affair offers us a cross-section of an untamed young woman’s world, where all moral judgment is left up to the reader.

Contact: Dace Rukšāne, ruksane@gmail.com

TheLittleLoveAffair_by_D.Ruksane.pdf

Why Did You Cry?

Why Did You Cry? (Kāpēc tu raudāji?)

This novel is set in the final chaotic years of the Soviet Union. The protagonist, Katrīna, is 15 and living in the outskirts of Riga. Just before her sixteenth birthday, she embarks alone on a long journey across half of Russia to a mountain-climbers’ camp in the Caucasus. There, not only does she encounter the mountains and their challenges, but also meets her first love, who happens to be Russian. In Latvian society, where Russians are the occupiers, this is practically criminal. When she returns home, Katrīna must confront the uncomprehending shock of those around her over her relationship, as well a family tragedy. As these events unfold, so too does Latvia’s liberation from occupation with the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Contact: Dace Rukšāne, ruksane@gmail.com

WhyDidYouCry_by_D.Ruksane.pdf