Story of deportation draws on relatives’ memories

Andris Straumanis

July 29, 2009

Gundars Kalve’s first novel, Līnis, tells the story of a young mother, Līva Lūse, and her daughter, Liene, who are deported from Latvia on June 14, 1941, to the Ural mountain region of the Soviet Union. Although the story is fictional, it is based on Kalve’s memories of stories about his relatives, especially the fate of his grandmother’s sister.

Kalve told the Jēkabpils regional newspaper Jaunais Vēstnesis that he was driven to write the story in part because of the inner turmoil he felt about what has happened to the Latvian people through various waves of repression, and in part because of the knowledge he has gained from his parents and grandparents about historical events.

The title, Līnis, is a term of endearment for Liene.

The book was released in June by the publishing arm of the Rīga-based Valters un Rapa booksellers.

Kalve is known in the Jēkabpils region for his fisheries work, a business he has been involved with for 10 years, according to the newspaper Brīvā Daugava.

Andris Straumanis is editor of Latvians Online.