Donaldas Kajokas (born 1953) is a gymnastics coach by training but for many years his main role has been at Nemunas, the most important cultural magazine in Kaunas, where he works as the literary editor. He made his debut in 1980 and has published 14 books. Most of them are poetry, some of the most beautiful poems ever written in Lithuanian: pure, precise, serene and heartbreaking. Kajokas has long been interested in eastern religions and philosophy, mostly Buddhism, and that has had a very strong influence on his work. He is a true bard of the beauty and the symmetry of the world and its every detail. Over the last few years, he has begun writing short prose and essays as well, which often appear in the cultural press, and which have been published in four books. He has also published two novels and collaborated with Romualdas Rakauskas, a like-minded photographer, on a photography book with poetic commentaries (or a book of poetry with photographic illustrations).

Ežeras ir kiti jį lydintys asmenys (The Lake and Other Persons Accompanying It).  Vilnius: Tyto alba, 2012. – 277 pp.

Gabrielius is a thirty-year-old computer programmer, who tragically loses his brother, and in his grief moves away to an old mansion on a lake shore. The mansion contains no phones, computers or cars, but also no walls or windows. Madam Em, the hostess, collects spectacular and gruesome trophies from world history. And the lake contains a horde of anattas, ‘non-beings’, though sometimes they are indistinguishable from beings.

It would be simplistic to state that the novel is fantastical or surreal. It is both, and also mythological, archetypal and a few more difficult words. However, most of all it feels not so much like a novel as a novel-length poem, and not just any poem, but a direct continuation of Kajokas’ poetry. Even though it may seem difficult and complicated, the novel is fun to read and has enjoyed great popularity.