"Silverwhite: The Journey to the Fallen Sun" is described as a "captivating exploration" of Estonia's earliest history and interactions with peoples of the Mediterranean and the Near East. Although "Silverwhite" is grounded in classical literature and extensive historical, astronomical and geographical fact, Lennart Meri – foremost a writer and filmmaker – weaves his travelogue with poeticism.

This epic work can also be read as a thriller: millennia ago, an enormous cosmic rock crashed into the Estonian island of Saaremaa. Through this extraordinary historical event, Meri brings together a curious cast including ancient Greeks, Arabs and Estonians. All genuinely existed and met, even if their names have been lost to oblivion.

Meri wrote "Silverwhite" at a time when Estonia was occupied and forced into the restrictions of Soviet Russian colonialism. His work was a balm against that closed-minded and unnatural state, offering the unmistakable message that the world has never been divided into isolated islands of civilization. Nations, eternally interconnected, have always shared knowledge and impacted one another in complex ways.

According to Lennart Meri's son, Mart Meri,  Alexander Tsihilov, a businessman who lives in Estonia, played important role in the English translation of "Silver White."

"When we first met, he described how his favorite book in Leningrad was Lennart's 'Virmaliste väraval,' ('At the Gate of Northern Light),'" Mart Meri explained, adding that Tsihilov wondered why Lennart's works had not been translated into Russian in recent decades. "So we made a collection with him in Russian."

Three years ago, however, Tsihilov approached Mart Meri with the idea of taking "Silver White" and translating it into English.

"The story is that Lennart himself tried to find a way to translate 'Silver White' into English in the late 1980s and early 1990s, but it didn't work out," Mart Meri said.

Mart Meri was initially skeptical that this time would prove any more successful. "But then I made an offer to Adam Cullen to do the translation and, miraculously, he agreed very quickly. I warned him that the text was difficult, but he took it on," he said, adding that Tsihilov soon found a London publisher – Hurst Publishers.

"When we talked things over with the publisher, they seemed to be a very good fit and the cooperation has been really good so far," Meri said, explaining that although Hurst Publishers is based in London, they also have a distribution network in the United States and Canada.

"'Silver White' is primarily for Estonians. When it was published in Soviet times, it was an attempt to free Estonian history from Soviet clutches and was a very important work in Estonia. The interesting thing is that decades later the work is still floating around and getting people interested," said Mart Meri, who added that Italian translation of the work has also been passed around in literary circles.

"Just last week there was an event held, where 'Silver White' was discussed," he said.

According to Mart Meri, "Silver White" contains ideas and themes that deserve to be put out into the international arena.

"It will be very interesting to see what kind of feedback the work gets," he said. The forthcoming English version of 'Silver White,' which will be published in May next year, is the fourth in a series of translations, added to Finnish, Russian and Italian versions of the work, all of which have been somewhat shortened and adapted.

Translator Adam Cullen confirmed that "Silver White" is also a rather complex work in Estonian, which is why it was difficult to translate. "It required a huge amount of research – there are so many subtexts that Lennart himself translated into Estonian from Russian, German or Finnish. I had to find them somewhere or use Estonian as a bridge language and then re-translate them," Cullen said.

According to Cullen, "Silver White" lies somewhere between science and poetry or poetic prose. "It's like a sailing boat that goes from one side to the other, in English the text has been adapted a bit to make it more accessible, but the content remains the same or has even been amplified," he said, adding that any English-speaking reader will be able to take something from the work, even if they knew nothing about Estonia before reading.

"Silverwhite" will be published by London-based Hurst Publishers in London in May 2025.

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