Purge (novel)
Encyclopedia
Purge is a novel by Finnish-Estonian writer Sofi Oksanen
, which has been translated into thirty-eight languages. Oksanen's third Finnish-language novel was published in 2008, based upon her original play of the same name, which was staged at the Finnish National Theatre
in 2007. As of 2010, Purge is the only one of Oksanen's novels which has been translated into English.
It is a story of two women forced to confront their own dark pasts, of collusion and resistance, of rape and sexual slavery set against the backdrop of the Soviet occupation of Estonia.
Zara is the grandniece of Aliide and at the beginning of the book she is subjected to sex trafficking by the Russian mafia. Her interaction with her great-aunt eventually forces Aliide to reconstruct and confront the history of her past. Ultimately, Aliide is responsible for delivering Zara from the torments caused by the sexual violence persecuted against her.
Resistance also permeates the book, especially against the Russification
of Estonia. In the entries in Hans' diary and other parts of the narrative the anti-Russification poet Paul-Eerik Rummo
appear. Also, Zara's grandmother continues to hold on to native Estonian
tongue, resisting a change in language.
The complexity of family history and the uncovering of tragedy in that history is fundamental to the book. However, the focus is increasingly upon the story of the protagonist, sometimes missing some of the more horrifying or interest parts of Estonian History. Jacob Silverman in The New Republic
points out that this perspective on history, which only carries the narrative up to 1992, offers a contemporary perspective on the issues that face modern Estonia and a "window... of understanding" into it and its past.
pointed out that Oksanen did "not shrink from depicting rape, torture or murder." The novel is also very realistic, focusing on small details of the characters as well as present very close visual detail as well. The realism even goes so far to depict tender moments, so that these horrific historical events can have a "human face". In doing so, Oksanen creates what Jacob Silverman called an "empathic treatment of all the miserable choices Estonians faced during their periods of oppression" which they faced under the brutal rule of the Soviet Union.
The story has very short chapters and quickly shifts its times and locations, which a Canadian reviewer mused was probably because of its original conception as a play. That same reviewer also points to how the English translation by Lola Rodgers misses the short sentences often commented on by Finnish reviewers as evoking a "lyrical, [and] poetic style." Finlit reviewer Lauri Sihvonen places emphasis on this precision of detail and style, saying "everything is packed into the language, every verb lives and breathes"
The narrative is broken up by returns to the notebook entries of Hans Pekk and continues to move back and forth through time through flashbacks. This organization does not follow traditional chronology but as Paul Binding in The Independent
said, it "corresponds to an inner logic of association and feeling, and so builds up the more strongly to the emotionally shattering climax." However this logic is hyperfocused on the telling of the story of the protagonists, sometimes ignoring some of the more brutal or poignant parts of the history.
Suspense is also important to the novel, as the secrets of the family's past is revealed.
. In 1941–1944, it was occupied by Germany
. From February
to November 1944, the German forces were expelled from Estonia by the Red Army
. Soviet rule of Estonia was re-established by force, and sovietisation followed, which was mostly carried out in 1944–1950. The forced collectivisation of agriculture
began in 1947, and was completed after the mass deportation of Estonians in March 1949
. All private farms were confiscated, and farmers were made to join the collective farms. An armed resistance movement
of 'forest brothers
' was active until the mass deportations. A total of 30,000 participated or supported the movement; 2,000 were killed. The Soviet authorities fighting the forest brothers suffered also hundreds of deaths. Among those killed on both sides were innocent civilians. Besides the armed resistance of the forest brothers, a number of underground nationalist schoolchildren groups were active. Most of their members were sentenced to long terms of imprisonment. The punitive actions decreased rapidly after Joseph Stalin
's death in 1953; from 1956–58, a large part of the deportees and political prisoners were allowed to return to Estonia. Political arrests and numerous other kind of crimes against humanity were committed all through the occupation period until the late 1980s. After all, the attempt to integrate Estonian society into the Soviet system failed. Although the armed resistance was defeated, the population remained anti-Soviet. This helped the Estonians to organise a new resistance movement
in the late 1980s, regain their independence in 1991, and then rapidly develop a modern society. Oksanen's father is Finnish and her mother is Estonian.
(2008), the Runeberg Prize
(2009) the Nordic Council Literature Prize (2010) and Prix Femina
(2010).
The novel won the Fnac
prize in 2010, selected from some 300 works published in France amid positive reviews by French critics, it was the first time the prize had been awarded to a foreigner. The best-selling novel is set to become a film in 2012, to be produced by Markus Selin
, and directed by Antti Jokinen
, and an opera, to be composed by Jüri Reinvere
.
In Estonia, the book has been met with mixed views. Some like Piret Tali and Jaan Kaplinski
have expressed more critical views, seeing the book as too trivial and sensationalist, whereas others like Mihhail Lotman
have defended the author. Professor Rein Raud agrees that the narrative is skilfully composed. He questions, however, the book's historical license, and hints that the book's success in Estonia may derive from its alignment with the currently "correct ideology" in Estonian historiography, whereby Raud sees parallels with Hans Leberecht's communist propaganda writings. In Library Journal
, reviewer Evelyn Beck writes that "Oksanen adeptly handles dual story lines and multiple points of view as she keeps us turning pages to reach the dramatic conclusion" and recommended the book "for fans of classic Russian writers like Tolstoy and Pasternak, as well as those who enjoy a contemporary tale of lust and betrayal".
Sofi Oksanen
Sofi Oksanen is a Finnish contemporary writer. She was born in Jyväskylä. Her father is Finnish and her mother is Estonian. So far, Oksanen has published three novels, one an international best seller and a play. She has received several awards for her literary work.-Life:Sofi Oksanen was born and...
, which has been translated into thirty-eight languages. Oksanen's third Finnish-language novel was published in 2008, based upon her original play of the same name, which was staged at the Finnish National Theatre
Finnish National Theatre
The Finnish National Theatre , founded in 1872 in the city of Pori, is located in central Helsinki on the northern side of the Helsinki Central Railway Station Square. It is the world's oldest theatre with performances in Finnish...
in 2007. As of 2010, Purge is the only one of Oksanen's novels which has been translated into English.
It is a story of two women forced to confront their own dark pasts, of collusion and resistance, of rape and sexual slavery set against the backdrop of the Soviet occupation of Estonia.
Plot
The plot begins in 1992 with an elderly woman, Aliide Truu, who lives in a remote portion of Estonia. The woman had isolated herself from the surrounding society and watches the youth of her nation, including her daughter, leaving the countryside for the more urban regions and Finland. One day while looking out the kitchen window, she discovers Zara, the granddaughter of her sister Ingel. Zara had been forced to partake in the sex trade by the Russian Mafia but escaped them. The only guide she had to help her find help, was a photograph from her grandmother with Aliide's name on it. The story then continues with a series of flashbacks which develops the relationship of Aliide and her sister, which hinged upon their competition for the love of Hans Pekk during World War II. The story ends as Aliide begins to reconcile herself with her jealousy of her sister and Zara's redemption from her disenchantment with the world caused by her sexual subjugation.Characters
The plot of Purge focuses on two main females, both of whom reviewers have commented on as complex and are integral to understanding the themes of the book. The novel begins with Aliide Truu, an elderly woman who has survived many of the horrors of the Soviet occupation of Estonia. The Aliide who the reader first meets has alienated herself from the local people, though strongly self-reliant. Though cloaked in a rough exterior, she represents a woman who has weathered considerable hardship. She has hardly anything in the way of motherly instinct, especially in regards to the other main character, Zara.Zara is the grandniece of Aliide and at the beginning of the book she is subjected to sex trafficking by the Russian mafia. Her interaction with her great-aunt eventually forces Aliide to reconstruct and confront the history of her past. Ultimately, Aliide is responsible for delivering Zara from the torments caused by the sexual violence persecuted against her.
Themes
Sexual violence and its manifestation in the sex trade becomes one of the central themes in the book. Both of the main characters lose control of their bodies as they are abused. Though each women perseveres through the disgrace and purges herself of this disgrace by burning their clothes. However, sexual violence and terror recurs when Tallinn gets a sex shop that is staffed by ex-KGB, who had perpetuated the violence earlier in the novel. Ultimately, Oksanen successfully captures the horrors inflicted upon women by European military conflicts as well as exploring contemporary sex trafficking.Resistance also permeates the book, especially against the Russification
Russification
Russification is an adoption of the Russian language or some other Russian attributes by non-Russian communities...
of Estonia. In the entries in Hans' diary and other parts of the narrative the anti-Russification poet Paul-Eerik Rummo
Paul-Eerik Rummo
Paul-Eerik Rummo is an Estonian poet and politician and a former Estonian Minister of Culture and Education, a former Estonian Minister of Population Affairs....
appear. Also, Zara's grandmother continues to hold on to native Estonian
Estonian language
Estonian is the official language of Estonia, spoken by about 1.1 million people in Estonia and tens of thousands in various émigré communities...
tongue, resisting a change in language.
The complexity of family history and the uncovering of tragedy in that history is fundamental to the book. However, the focus is increasingly upon the story of the protagonist, sometimes missing some of the more horrifying or interest parts of Estonian History. Jacob Silverman in The New Republic
The New Republic
The magazine has also published two articles concerning income inequality, largely criticizing conservative economists for their attempts to deny the existence or negative effect increasing income inequality is having on the United States...
points out that this perspective on history, which only carries the narrative up to 1992, offers a contemporary perspective on the issues that face modern Estonia and a "window... of understanding" into it and its past.
Style
Purge on the surface level is very bleak while it explores the dark events of the Soviet occupation of Estonia. A review in the Winnipeg Free PressWinnipeg Free Press
The Winnipeg Free Press is a daily broadsheet newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Founded in 1872, as the Manitoba Free Press, it is the oldest newspaper in western Canada. It is the newspaper with the largest readership in the province....
pointed out that Oksanen did "not shrink from depicting rape, torture or murder." The novel is also very realistic, focusing on small details of the characters as well as present very close visual detail as well. The realism even goes so far to depict tender moments, so that these horrific historical events can have a "human face". In doing so, Oksanen creates what Jacob Silverman called an "empathic treatment of all the miserable choices Estonians faced during their periods of oppression" which they faced under the brutal rule of the Soviet Union.
The story has very short chapters and quickly shifts its times and locations, which a Canadian reviewer mused was probably because of its original conception as a play. That same reviewer also points to how the English translation by Lola Rodgers misses the short sentences often commented on by Finnish reviewers as evoking a "lyrical, [and] poetic style." Finlit reviewer Lauri Sihvonen places emphasis on this precision of detail and style, saying "everything is packed into the language, every verb lives and breathes"
The narrative is broken up by returns to the notebook entries of Hans Pekk and continues to move back and forth through time through flashbacks. This organization does not follow traditional chronology but as Paul Binding in The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
said, it "corresponds to an inner logic of association and feeling, and so builds up the more strongly to the emotionally shattering climax." However this logic is hyperfocused on the telling of the story of the protagonists, sometimes ignoring some of the more brutal or poignant parts of the history.
Suspense is also important to the novel, as the secrets of the family's past is revealed.
Background
After being an independent country for twenty years, Estonia was occupied and annexed in June 1940 during World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. In 1941–1944, it was occupied by Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. From February
Battle of Narva (1944)
The Battle of Narva was a military campaign between the German Army Detachment "Narwa" and the Soviet Leningrad Front fought for possession of the strategically important Narva Isthmus on 2 February – 10 August 1944 during World War II....
to November 1944, the German forces were expelled from Estonia by the Red Army
Leningrad Front
The Leningrad Front was first formed on August 27, 1941, by dividing the Northern Front into the Leningrad Front and Karelian Front, during the German approach on Leningrad .-History:...
. Soviet rule of Estonia was re-established by force, and sovietisation followed, which was mostly carried out in 1944–1950. The forced collectivisation of agriculture
Kolkhoz
A kolkhoz , plural kolkhozy, was a form of collective farming in the Soviet Union that existed along with state farms . The word is a contraction of коллекти́вное хозя́йство, or "collective farm", while sovkhoz is a contraction of советское хозяйство...
began in 1947, and was completed after the mass deportation of Estonians in March 1949
Operation Priboi
Operation Priboi was the code name for the Soviet mass deportation from the Baltic states on March 25–28, 1949, called March deportation by Baltic historians. Some 90,000 Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians, labeled as enemies of the people, were deported to inhospitable areas of the Soviet Union...
. All private farms were confiscated, and farmers were made to join the collective farms. An armed resistance movement
Resistance movement
A resistance movement is a group or collection of individual groups, dedicated to opposing an invader in an occupied country or the government of a sovereign state. It may seek to achieve its objects through either the use of nonviolent resistance or the use of armed force...
of 'forest brothers
Forest Brothers
The Forest Brothers were Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian partisans who waged a guerrilla war against Soviet rule during the Soviet invasion and occupation of the three Baltic states during, and after, World War II...
' was active until the mass deportations. A total of 30,000 participated or supported the movement; 2,000 were killed. The Soviet authorities fighting the forest brothers suffered also hundreds of deaths. Among those killed on both sides were innocent civilians. Besides the armed resistance of the forest brothers, a number of underground nationalist schoolchildren groups were active. Most of their members were sentenced to long terms of imprisonment. The punitive actions decreased rapidly after Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
's death in 1953; from 1956–58, a large part of the deportees and political prisoners were allowed to return to Estonia. Political arrests and numerous other kind of crimes against humanity were committed all through the occupation period until the late 1980s. After all, the attempt to integrate Estonian society into the Soviet system failed. Although the armed resistance was defeated, the population remained anti-Soviet. This helped the Estonians to organise a new resistance movement
Singing Revolution
The Singing Revolution is a commonly used name for events between 1987 and 1991 that led to the restoration of the independence of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania...
in the late 1980s, regain their independence in 1991, and then rapidly develop a modern society. Oksanen's father is Finnish and her mother is Estonian.
Conception
The novel was originally conceived as a play. The play was written in 2007 and produced at The National Theatre of Finland. In writing the novel, Oksanen chose for the plot to diverge from its original ending and focus on different themes.Reception
The novel ranked number one on the bestseller list for fiction in Finland and Estonia. The novel subsequently won the Finlandia PrizeFinlandia Prize
The Finlandia Prize is the most prestigious literary award in Finland by the Finnish Book Foundation. It is awarded annually to the author of the best novel written by a Finnish citizen , children's book , and non-fiction book...
(2008), the Runeberg Prize
Runeberg Prize
The Runeberg prize is a Finnish literature prize founded in 1987.The prize is named in honour of Finnish national poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg and is awarded annually on his birthday, 5th February. The prize is awarded to a literary work by a Finnish writer in Finnish or Swedish...
(2009) the Nordic Council Literature Prize (2010) and Prix Femina
Prix Femina
The Prix Femina is a French literary prize created in 1904 by 22 writers for the magazine La Vie heureuse . The prize is decided each year by an exclusively female jury, although the authors of the winning works do not have to be women...
(2010).
The novel won the Fnac
Fnac
Fnac is an international entertainment retail chain offering cultural and electronic products, founded by André Essel and Max Théret in 1954. It is the largest retailer of its kind in France...
prize in 2010, selected from some 300 works published in France amid positive reviews by French critics, it was the first time the prize had been awarded to a foreigner. The best-selling novel is set to become a film in 2012, to be produced by Markus Selin
Markus Selin
Markus Selin is a television and film producer.-Career:Selin's first feature was conceived in the mid-80s. While attending a party in L.A. he was introduced to fellow Finn Renny Harlin and so became good friends with the aspiring director who was then working as a buyer for a Finnish distribution...
, and directed by Antti Jokinen
Antti Jokinen
Antti Jokinen is a Finnish music video and film director.-Early life:Jokinen attended East Carolina University on a basketball scholarship and later graduated with a major in broadcast and film.-Music video career:...
, and an opera, to be composed by Jüri Reinvere
Jüri Reinvere
Jüri Reinvere is an Estonian-born composer and poet living in Berlin, Germany. Since 2005 he has used his own poetry as spoken word as an integrated part of his music...
.
In Estonia, the book has been met with mixed views. Some like Piret Tali and Jaan Kaplinski
Jaan Kaplinski
Jaan Kaplinski is an Estonian poet, philosopher, and culture critic. Kaplinski is known for his independent mind, focus on global issues and support for left-wing/liberal thinking...
have expressed more critical views, seeing the book as too trivial and sensationalist, whereas others like Mihhail Lotman
Mihhail Lotman
Mihhail Lotman is an Estonian literature researcher and politician, son of Yuri Lotman and Zara Mints.Mihhail Lotman's research fields include general semiotics and semiotics of culture as well as text theory and history of Russian literature. Lotman was a member of the board of Russian Cultural...
have defended the author. Professor Rein Raud agrees that the narrative is skilfully composed. He questions, however, the book's historical license, and hints that the book's success in Estonia may derive from its alignment with the currently "correct ideology" in Estonian historiography, whereby Raud sees parallels with Hans Leberecht's communist propaganda writings. In Library Journal
Library Journal
Library Journal is a trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey . It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional practice...
, reviewer Evelyn Beck writes that "Oksanen adeptly handles dual story lines and multiple points of view as she keeps us turning pages to reach the dramatic conclusion" and recommended the book "for fans of classic Russian writers like Tolstoy and Pasternak, as well as those who enjoy a contemporary tale of lust and betrayal".
External links
- Sofi Oksanen
- Purge at Grove/Atlantic