Spanning forty years and two continents, Lost Birds weaves a tale of Irene Matas and her friends, who arrive as children in Chicago after the Second World War and begin to puzzle out what it means to be American. These interconnected stories follow the residents on Talman Street who fled the Soviet takeover of their country. While the parents, sick with nostalgia and grief for their lost homeland, cling to their old ways, their conflicted children are torn between allegiance to their parents and the bright appeal of America.
As Irene and her restless friends come of age in the sixties, they begin to grow beyond their close but insular neighborhood, but still feel drawn to their past.
When after many years, the impossible happens-the Iron Curtain finally falls-some return to visit relatives only to find their country ravaged by the Soviets. Irene returns to find something she never expected.
Autorentext
Birute Putrius is a Lithuanian-American writer who was born in a displaced person's camp. She grew up in Chicago and now lives in Santa Monica. Her fiction and poetry have appeared in numerous publications and anthologies. Two of the stories were optioned for short films by Columbia College in Chicago.
Inhalt
Becoming American Irene Matas, 1950 1 Lost Birds Agota Janulis, 1951 22 Blue Tango Vida Bartulis, 1952 37 Where Death Lived Irene Matas, 1952 44 Lachryma Christi Irene Matas, 1953 52 Stalin on Talman Street Jurgis Vitkus, 1953 65 The Talman Rains Ona Janulis, 1953 75 Carnival Al Vitkus, 1954 87 Trains Antanas Balys, 1955 98 Silvia's House of Beauty Silvia Degutis, 1957 106 Sunday Dinner Milda Gudauskas, 1958 118 Lucy in the Sky Milda Gudauskas, 1959 128 Miner's Lake Irene Matas, 1960 137 Southside Miracles Irene Matas, 1961 148 Frozen Waves Elena Kazlas, 196) 160 Secrets of Life Irene Matas, 1963 169 Those Chicago Blues Irene Matas, 1968 183 War Wounds Al Vitkus, 1973 193 Chinese Red Irene Matas, 1976 207 The Pull of Home Ona Janulis, 1985 218 The Boarder Irene Matas, 1987 228 A Foreign Country Agota Janulis, 1988 239 Homecoming Al Vitkus, 1991 257