Vilnius Poker

  I calmly think that not a single person had the strength to do this. Neither Martynas, nor Teodoras, nor even Vytautas Vargalys. None of them committed suicide. I think calmly that perhaps I’ll manage to carry out the most human of acts, an act that is impossible for any ordinary dog, in exactly this way.

  Maybe this is exactly the way I’ll manage to break all the rules.

  Earthly life didn’t satisfy me, but the afterlife is even less satisfying. There has to be, there must be something more.

  It’d be better, even if it takes a hundred other transmigrations, to be born a human again. With all those foolish hopes and weaknesses. Most importantly of all—with foolish hopes. It’d be better . . .

  Thank God, the trolleybus doesn’t let me think for long.

  First, my howl is gone, then my body, but then for a long, long time my last thought, the most important insight into Vilnius Poker, remains. This thought broke out of my howling brain as a black luminary, as an explanation and an answer, even though I don’t know what it means, and now I’ll never find out:

  DOGS DON’T DISTINGUISH DREAMS FROM REALITY.

  Vilnius

  1979-1987

  Author Bio

  Ričardas Gavelis was a prose writer, playwright, and publicist. He published his first book—a collection of short stories entitled The Celebration That Has Not Begun—in 1976 and went on to write six novels, three collections of stories, and several plays before passing away in 2002. His other novels include Seven Ways to Commit Suicide, The Last Generation of People on Earth, and The Life of Sun-Tzu in the Sacred City of Vilnius. This is his first novel to be published in English.

  Translator Bio

  Elizabeth Novickas graduated from the University of Illinois-Chicago with an M.A. in Lithuanian Language and Literature. She has worked previously as a bookbinder, newspaper designer, cartographer, and computer system administrator. Vilnius Poker is her first full-length literary translation.

  About Open Letter

  Open Letter—the University of Rochester’s nonprofit, literary translation press—is one of only a handful of publishing houses dedicated to increasing access to world literature for English readers. Publishing twelve titles in translation each year, Open Letter searches for works that are extraordinary and influential, works that will become the classics of tomorrow.

  Making world literature available in English is crucial to opening our cultural borders, and its availability plays a vital role in maintaining a healthy and vibrant book culture. Open Letter strives to cultivate an audience for these works by helping readers discover imaginative, stunning works of fiction and by creating a constellation of international writing that is engaging, stimulating, and enduring.

  Current and forthcoming titles from Open Letter include works from Argentina, Austria, Brazil, France, Iceland, Norway, Spain, and numerous other countries.

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