White Shroud

A profound exploration of immigrant life, White Shroud delves into themes of identity and alienation through the eyes of a poet navigating New York's complexities.

The novel White Shroud (Balta drobule, 1958) is widely regarded as Lithuania's most significant work of modernist fiction. It draws deeply from the author's own experiences as a refugee and immigrant, presenting a psychological exploration through a stream-of-consciousness narrative. The protagonist, an emigre poet, navigates life as a bellhop in a bustling New York hotel during the 1950s, capturing the essence of displacement and cultural adaptation.

Through a rich tapestry of narrative voices, White Shroud contrasts the narrator's life in Lithuania before and during World War II with the stark realities of immigrant life in New York. The novel deftly captures the struggle of adjusting to an indifferent modern world, where the past continually influences the present. The author employs language and allusion to create a vivid, culturally specific atmosphere that resonates with universal themes of identity, alienation, and creativity.

Written from the viewpoint of a newcomer in an Anglophone country, White Shroud invites readers to engage with the complexities of immigrant experiences. It challenges them to reflect on the nature of selfhood and cultural difference, making it a poignant exploration of the human condition amidst the backdrop of historical upheaval and personal transformation.