Mari Saat

Mari Saat (1947) is one of those remarkable Estonian writers who works slowly and quietly, without much fuss, but with all the more impressive results. Saat publishes relatively rarely – she has published ‘only’ five novels so far. However, her longest prose work, Lasnamäe lunajastaja (The Saviour of Lasnamäe, 2008) garnered a lot of attention and recognition – including the Estonian Cultural Endowment prose prize. The reason is her blunt and emphatic insight into the lives of Estonian Russians. Saat’s most recent book Oakesed kaunas (Like Beans in a Pod, 2014) brings together her best short stories that were previously dispersed in various books and magazines. The book proves Saat’s importance not only as a novelist but also as a short story writer. It is worth remembering that Saat has twice won the prestigious Friedebert Tuglas short story award, and both winning stories are included in Oakesed kaunas.