Part of the Peter Owen World Series: Baltics. Estonian author Kai Aareleid's novel, 'Burning Cities', is a poetic historical saga, in which the fortunes of a small family parallel those of a small nation under Communism. A young girl growing up in Soviet Estonia is witness to tragic events both grand and domestic.

Opening up about her family history, Tiina revisits the first two decades of her life following World War II, in Tartu, Estonia. The adult world that makes up Communist society is one of cryptic conversations, dread, and heavy drinking. From the death of Stalin to the gradual separation of her parents, Tiina experiences events from the periphery, and is powerless to prevent the defining tragedy in her life--a suicide in the family.