An tSlaivéin

Úrscéilín é seo a chaitheas súil ar an tSlaivéin, tír bheag shamhailteach in Oirthear na hEorpa. Chonaic muintir na tíre seo an tUileloscadh agus an Stailíneachas, ach níor briseadh a meanma ná a misneach faoi bhrú na staire gránna seo féin. Anois, áfach, gheal lá na saoirse agus d'imigh scáil an tSóivéadachais, ach tháinig géarchéim nua ag bagairt ar an tír ón taobh istigh. Fear óg íogair é Adam Jokamies a tháinig i gcrann i gCríoch Lochlann, beag beann ar an gcineál cruatan a ndeachaigh muintir na Slaivéine tríd. D'fhág an tSlaivéin faoi dhraíocht é, áfach, agus é ag tabhairt aghaidhe ar an tír anois le teanga na tíre a fhoghlaim. Tá an t-úrscéal seo ag cur thar maoil le cultúr agus le cuimhní cinn Oirthear na hEorpa, rud is annamh a d'fheicfeá i litríocht na Gaeilge. Ach is scéal grá é chomh maith, agus é ar na cinn is earótai sa teanga. --- This novella is set in Slavenia, a small imaginary country in Eastern Europe. Although its inhabitants experienced both the Holocaust and Stalinism, their spirit and courage remained unbroken. Slavenia is now a free and independent country, but a new internal crisis seems to threaten the fledging democracy. The hero, Adam Jokamies, a sensitive young man from Scandinavia, is unaware of the great hardship the Slavenians have suffered in the recent past. He is nonetheless so entranced by Slavenia and its distinctive character, that he has come to the country to learn its language. Unusually for Irish literature, the culture of Eastern Europe and the history of the region are everywhere in this book. The novella is also, however, a love story and indeed one of the most erotic tales ever written in modern Irish. 3