This“documentarynovel,“thelatestofEstonianauthorMatiUnt’sdeadpanandplayfulworkstobetranslatedintoEnglish,isaboutalittle-knownperiodinthelifeofthegreatBertoltBrecht,whenthewriter--havingfledNaziGermany--becamestuckinFinlandawaitingthevisathatwouldallowhimtoleaveEuropefortheUnitedStates.AsBB,theavowedcommunist,continuesenjoyingthebourgeoispleasuresofpre-warlifewithhiswifeandtubercularmistress,theSovietUnionisnot-so-quietlyannexingLatvia,Lithuania,andEstonia;andthegulfbetweenBrecht’spreferredlifestyleandhisinflammatorypolemicsgrowslargerandlarger.Bothaffectionateandirreverent,thisportraitofoneofthetwentiethcentury’sgreatauthorsmixestogetheravarietyofcomicstyles,excerptsfromcontemporaneousdocuments,andUnt’strademarkdigressions,producingakindofhistoricalnovelasinterestedininterrogatingthepastassimplyrecreatingit.
