Soviet Milk

Synopsis

In Soviet Milk, Latvian novelist Nora Ikstena traces the intertwined lives of a mother and daughter across five decades of Soviet occupation, from the aftermath of the Second World War to the collapse of the Berlin Wall.

The mother is a gifted fertility specialist whose commitment to her patients brings her into conflict with the Soviet state. After defending a patient from abuse by a Soviet officer, she is stripped of her professional life and exiled to a rural village. Her daughter, raised largely by her grandparents, grows up at a painful distance from her mother, trying to understand a woman whose intelligence, ambition, and capacity for love have been overwhelmed by political repression and despair.

As the daughter comes of age, poetry and the possibility of a different future offer an alternative to the constrictions of Soviet life. The intimate story of their relationship unfolds alongside the larger history of Latvia, revealing how political systems penetrate the most private aspects of existence: family, motherhood, identity, work, and the ability to imagine a future.

Ikstena writes with striking restraint and emotional precision, creating a novel in which personal grief and historical trauma are inseparable. At its heart is a complicated portrait of maternal love, inherited suffering, and the possibility of liberation. Translated from Latvian by Margita Gailitis, Soviet Milk is an important work of contemporary Latvian literature and a powerful account of life under Soviet rule.

About the Author

Nora Ikstena is one of Latvia's most prominent contemporary writers. Born in Riga in 1969, she studied at the University of Latvia and has written more than twenty books, including novels, short stories, and biographies. She was involved in establishing the Latvian Literature Centre and has played an important role in promoting Latvian literature internationally. Soviet Milk won the 2015 Annual Latvian Literature Award for Best Prose and has been translated into numerous languages.

Margita Gailitis is a translator of Latvian literature whose work has brought significant works of Latvian poetry and prose into English. Her translations include works by Nora Ikstena, Māra Zālīte, and Sandra Kalniete.

Publisher

Peirene Press Ltd

Publication Date

July 7, 2026

Format

Paperback

Pages

192

Subjects

Literary Fiction; Historical Fiction; Latvian Literature; Soviet Union; Communism; Women; Mother-Daughter Relationships; Family; Political Repression; Eastern Europe; Translated Fiction

ISBN

9781916806207