Somewhere East of West Paradise (THE THIRD EUROPE, #2)

Joker Homer Salmon de Stella is an atypical Estonian, whose name and the names of his brothers, sisters and relatives are also very unusual. Each name symbolizes something, and it is perhaps not too difficult to guess what. The name Joker has nothing in common with the Jokers in adventure films. Since much of the action takes place at a time when Estonia was part of the Soviet Union and is still in Eastern Europe, it fits in with a well-known card game in this area, in which there are two Jokers. In the hands of a skilled card player, Joker is practically invincible. He even beats the ace of trump. But names are not too important in this story. In short, Joker one day – perhaps for personal reasons – gets kicked out of Estonia, although he considers himself a nationalist and a Christian, and goes to Hungary. He learns Hungarian and lives among Hungarians like a Hungarian, although he has an Estonian passport. He blends in with the Hungarians so well that he rarely finds anyone who considers him a foreigner. His divine mission in Hungary is metaphysical in nature. As a person with a different cultural and religious background, he sees things in Hungarian society that seem difficult to understand and even repulsive to an outsider. At the same time, through the prism of charismatic Christian teaching and from a distance, he sees his own life as completely different, as he would never have experienced under other circumstances. He finds that many of the things he has done in his life are not justified. He also notices that other people are often, unfortunately, much more insignificant than we would like them to be. Most of the time, we have to learn to rely on ourselves first and foremost.