Treading Air follows the life of Ullo Paerand through thirty years of violent upheaval in Estonia.
Ullo is a talented boy with a remarkable memory. Deserted by his father as a child, he is forced to rely on his ingenuity to fight for a better future and, in due course, comes to hold an important position in the Prime Minister's office. Following the Soviet and German occupations, fate disappoints Ullo a second time. Deflected from his honest career, he works with the nationalists for the restoration of the Estonian Republic, but, when offered a chance of escape by a representative of the Vatican, he chooses to remain in his country. Thus he resigns himself to a life of menial labour in an Estonia very different from that of his youth and his dreams, Jaan Kross's narrative unfolds in stories imparted to an unknown "author" by the elderly Ullo. Shortly before the end, a teasing ambiguity suffuses his tale, but Ullo dies before he is able to answer the final question about his life.
Treading Air follows the life of Ullo Paerand through 30 years of violent political upheaval. Abandoned by his father as a child, he grows up to become an electoral assistant to the parliamentary office in Tallinn and it is in this position that Ullo witnesses first the Soviet and then the German occupation of Estonia. Forced out of his honest profession Ullo becomes involved with the Resistance but, when many Estonians flee the country, he chooses to remain. An interlude of a decade shows much has changed since the end of the War; Soviet influence is marked in the style of government and the manner of the people. The narrative unfolds in stories imparted to an unknown 'author' by a 70-year-old Ullo. Just before the end, however, Kross introduces a teasing ambiguity: Ullo dies before he is able to answer the last question about his life.
