- At 14 years old, Martin Averkas was inspired by is teacher to seek a life in the bigger world, beyond his small farming community, but he is repressed time and time again by the Soviet rule over Lithuania. He blames his teacher for inspiring him and seeks revenge on the teacher for opening his mind to possibility.
- Some Unfinished Business is a story of dreams, determination, and resistance in Soviet-occupied Lithuania post-WWII.
- As a journalist, the author closely observed the movement to restore Lithuanian independence from the Soviet Union.
- The characters are based on remarkable historical figures: a murderous children’s poet; an underground resister against Soviet occupation who fought to the death; a librarian who picked up overdue books from the Jewish ghetto and picked up the odd little girl to sneak away too. The setting is also historically based.
- Antanas Sileika is the author of 4 novels, a collection of short stories, and a memoir. He has been shortlisted for the Leacock and the Toronto Book Award, and longlisted for Canada Reads. He received a Knight’s Cross medal from the Lithuanian Government (similar to the Order of Canada).
- The author is a regular columnist for CBC’s The Next Chapter, and has connections to the Globe and Mail and the Toronto Star.