Reflection of the in-between state in the novel "Trys sekundės dangaus" by Sigitas Parulskis

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Literatūra; Rašytojai; Sigitas Parulskis; Grožinė literatūra; Proza; Romanai; "Trys sekundės dangaus"; Šiuolaikinė literatūra; Lyginamoji analizė; Lietuvos nacionalinė kultūros ir meno premija; Lithuanian literature; Writers; Sigitas Parulskis; Fiction; Prose; Novels; "Three seconds of heaven"; Modern literature; Comparative analysis; Lithuanian National Prize for Culture and Arts.

ENThe period after the re-establishment of independence in Lithuania can be characterised as an in-between, transitional state, when the old world has already been abandoned, but the new one has not yet been entered. Metaphorical depiction of this state is not only typical of a number of Lithuanian novels created over the recent time but is also a trend noticeable in the works of many authors hailing from the territory of the former East Germany. Based on the concept of the in-between state as a threshold, a fracture between two poles of experience (pathos and response), as described in the phenomenological concept of the topography of the alien outlined by German philosopher Bernhard Waldenfels, the article discloses how this phenomenon is manifested in the novel "Trys sekundės dangaus" ("Three Seconds of Heaven") by Sigitas Parulskis. It is demonstrated that the phenomena observed by Waldenfels can contribute productively to a deeper understanding of literary works and provide the possibility to regard many things from another perspective. [From the publication]