Purge

Even now, a few days after finishing Oksanen's Purge, I am not sure how exactly how I feel about the story. Well, that's not entirely true. I know how I feel. It's sort of an "eh, umm, huh" kind of feeling. Problem is that doesn't give me much to work with when comes to constructing a review.The murky undertones of the piece are provocative to say the least, but I think the graphic nature of the content is a bit of a turn off for those unwilling to examine or even acknowledge the dark underbelly of society. From Zara's treatment as a trafficked sex slave to Aliide's experiences both during and after Soviet occupation, the story is designed to make you think about survival, shame, enmity and dishonor in terms most of us have never considered. Personally, I like that Oksanen isn't afraid to go where she does. I'm not necessarily drawn to the explicitness of her work, but I can appreciate the technique as necessary in exploring the themes of the piece.Despite my admiration for the emotional content of the book, I felt it lacking in other areas. For example, I feel the exploration of human nature took precedence over character development. Oksanen presents Zara and Aliide in a very straight forward manner and try as I might, I couldn't find it in me to accept the impersonal depictions of individuals experiencing such extreme circumstances. I think that establishing a connection between the characters and the reader would have really enhanced the power of what Oksanen was attempting to express through her narrative.Additionally, I felt the writing style was difficult to navigate. Creatively artistic, but functionally problematic. Oksanen jumps between characters and time frames at will with little or no exposition. She throws bits of information at the reader, leaving them to piece together an often times incomplete picture of events. It is enough to understand what is happening but it is far from ideal.Finally, I have to acknowledge the disadvantage I felt while reading Purge. I can't speak for all Americans but our exposure to European history is rather limited. Prior to reading Oksanen's work, I had only vague notions of the political events described in the book. I don't blame the author for my lack of familiarity with the subject, but I think it is worth noting that book poses certain challenges for those less acquainted Estonian history.

Dear, Oh Dear, so many encomiastic, overlong, bombastic reviews for this novel and so little room for anything that doesn't smack of mindless cheerleading for Ms. Oksanen and her Estonian novel that has made such a splash here and elsewhere! I wonder how my rather rather lukewarm review shall set here amidst the clamour. Well, we shall see.What this novel reads like, for the most part, is a Shockumentary, so to speak, regarding the lurid - I mean, VERY lurid. - details of sex trafficking in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, mixed in with some interesting and harrowing Estonian history and, finally, propelled by suspense regarding the fate of various members of an Estonian family, two in particular, Zara and her Aunt Aliide.The story is competently told and the narrative architecture, consisting as it does of multiple time loops and zig-zags, holds together surprisingly well. Ms. Oksanen knows how to weave a tale. Unfortunately, this obsession with shock and the pyrotechnics of sexual sadism and a hopscotch time frame leave the reader - or, rather, left this reader - rather benumbed at the end.What Ms. Oksanen excels at conveying: a quiet, inner subterranean terror as represented in the interaction of the two main characters, is drowned out by the surrounding noise - all the shocks which have won her so much éclat amongst the other reviewers.It's Oksanen's deft ability to write about this silent terror permeating the walls of Allide's house which sets her apart as a writer:"She couldn't brush it away like she ought to have done. Instead it seeped in between the wallpaper and the old wallpaper paste, into the gaps left behind by the photographs that she had hidden there and later destroyed. The fear settled in as though it felt at home. As though it would never go away. As though it had just been out somewhere for a while and had come home for the evening."As indeed it has!Perhaps in her next novel Ms. Oksanen will have moved beyond the need to attempt to shock with the lurid and sadistic. For what is truly shocking is the artistic ability on display herein, beneath the noise.

We, my husband, son and our former German exchange student lived in Tartu in 1995-96. This was after the "Singing Revolution" and the Russians were not wanted in Estonia. We rented a furnished apartment in a five story, no elevator, stark building for ten times the going rate for Estonian citizens!Two vivid memories stand out: the terror that I felt when I came across a picture of Stalin hidden in the books on the shelf in the living room and the astonishment on observing a woman eating an apple, totally devouring the whole thing,stem and seeds and all!Yes, we knew of people who had relatives who were packed onto train cars and simply were forced out into the snow somewhere in Siberia, to live or die. Families were separated and had no way to contact their relatives for years, if they survived at all! We saw former prisons, where a favorite interrogation punishment was to pour cold water on naked prisoners and force them to be locked into solitary cells in the winter!There were informants who would lie about their neighbors for spite or jealousy, all for a bite of food or some favor. The Russians moved into Estonia only the most hard-core trusted Communists, because Estonia was their border country to the West. They had a huge airbase to act as a front-line defense, the runways were deserted when we saw it!Now, we have "freedom" dunces strutting around with their AK 47s protesting against common sense measures to prevent spreading Covid19 and following another demagogue, who only wants to cause chaos and destruction! When will they ever learn??

It's an interesting book delving into human desire and the consequences of wilfullness. Characters are drawn out well and overall it's a worthy initiation into Finnish literature. Hopefully someday I can read it in Finnish.

No es una obra maestra, pero está entretenida y fa algo de contexto histórico de Estonia y los conflictos sociales que ha enfrentado.

C'est une bonne histoire avec une écriture raffinée, une structure subtile. C'est mon premier livre de Sofi Oksanen, mais ce sera pas le dernier!

Ich habe wenige Bücher gelesen, die so gut geschrieben sind, wie dieses. Die Entwicklung der Charaktere ist glaubwürdig und deren Handlungsweisen gut nachvollziehbar. Das hat mich davon abgehalten, wegen des verwirrenden Schlusses nur 4 Sterne zu geben. Es ist einfach so ein gutes Buch. Sehr zu empfehlen!

Livro que retrata de forma real o ambiente é tipo de vida local, entremeando a estória da família, com as mudanças políticas e consequências de tal. Mantém um clima de suspense durante todo o tempo, segurando o leitor até o final.