When the Doves Disappeared

Starred review from January 19, 2015
During and after the Second World War, the boundaries and power structures of Europe changed dramatically. In this fourth novel, Oksanen, who has won the Swedish Academy Nordic Prize and Budapest Grand Prize, traces those changes through the lives of one Estonian family. Focusing mostly on Roland's passion for a free Estonia, Juudith's quest to be cherished, and Edgar's machinations, Oksanen's characters must navigate the ever-changing political landscape that means danger for everyone, especially those who, like Edgar, lust for power and recognition. The fragmented narrative, adeptly translated by Rogers, switches between the Third Reich and the height of Soviet power, using these two time periods to make ideal use of dramatic irony, to render understandable collusion with the enemy as well as portray its consequences, and to evoke sympathy for a man whose ambition leads him to commit terrible atrocities. Oksanen manages to relate these stories without horror or judgment, and reminds the reader that, whatever else people in wartime may do, they are human creatures, and not the one-dimensional monsters that history makes them seem to be. Agent: Salomonsson Agency.

December 15, 2014
The lives of three Estonians reflect their country's ordeal during and after World War II in the latest novel by this Finnish-Estonian author (Purge, 2010).For the small Baltic nation, it was a triple whammy. First the Russians occupied it in 1940. The following year, the Germans invaded, and the Russians were forced out. In 1944, it was the Germans' turn to flee; this time, the Russian occupation would last for decades. Oksanen begins her story in '41. Roland and his cousin Edgar have returned from training in Finland to drive the Red Army out of their country. While Roland fights fearlessly, Edgar is terrified of combat, though he does have other skills. A glib talker and willing informer, he ingratiates himself with the Germans, initially seen as liberators, and forges papers, giving himself a German name. Unable or unwilling to have sex with his wife, Juudit, he lives apart from her. Roland's situation is worse. He learns his fiancee, Rosalie, has killed herself and is buried in an unmarked grave. Suspecting foul play, he vows to track down her killer. Juudit meanwhile has fallen in love with an SS officer and moved into his house. So far so good, with three characters clearly delineated: The honorable Roland, Estonia's conscience; Edgar, a world-class creep; and the conflicted Juudit, who sleeps with a German while helping Roland smuggle refugees. Narrative momentum evaporates with a series of fast forwards to the much less volatile and engaging 1963-65 period, when Edgar has yet another identity as a tireless communist propagandist, a reluctant Juudit is back with him, and Roland has vanished. Camp horrors under the Nazis are dealt with perfunctorily, and the mystery of Rosalie's death is not revealed until the very end; so much for the revenge motif. Fascinating material that's marred by the lack of an angle or perspective.

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January 1, 2015
In meticulously precise prose, Finnish Estonian novelist Oksanen exposes the craven nature of oppression in Estonia during two time periods, first by German invaders in 1941, then by Communists in 1963. Three charactersfierce resistance fighter Roland; supreme opportunist Edgar; and Edgar's hapless wife, Juuditare each forced to make life-altering decisions under desperate circumstances. Roland has always yearned for an independent Estonia and deserts the Red Army to mobilize for freedom. He knows that his cousin Edgar is a braggart inclined to stretch the truth, but he is shocked to learn that Edgar has abandoned his wife and become a loyal supporter of the Nazi regime. Twenty years later, though, Edgar has managed to cover up his background and become a Soviet apparatchik, writing a completely fabricated, devious history of Estonians who collaborated with the Nazis. Oksanen captures both the futility of the citizens of a tiny country who yearn for freedom and the dark heart of an opportunist who would sell out his own family in order to survive. This is powerful fiction that stirs history, war crimes, and psychology into a compelling mix.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)

Starred review from January 1, 2015

Originally published in Finnish and a big seller in Finland and Sweden, this new work from Oksanen (Purge) opens in wartime Estonia, a country invaded both by the Soviets and by the Nazis and after World War II integrated into the USSR. Two cousins are dodging Russian troops in the countryside as the front shifts. Roland is an insurgent who supports a free Estonia, but villainous Edgar has collaborated with the Russians and now forges a new identity and finds work with the Nazis. Edgar's wife, Juudit, a naive woman who doesn't realize that Edgar is a closeted homosexual, moves to the city, where she becomes a German SS officer's "war bride." The interconnections among the Estonian civilians and the difficult decisions they must make haunt them throughout the war and after. The story line stretches into the 1960s, when Edgar has reinvented himself yet again, insinuating himself with the KGB. He is still searching for Roland, whom Edgar fears could puncture his armor of lies. VERDICT Oksanen depicts civilian life in wartime and under communist oppression in rich historical detail, skillfully manipulating chronology and threading clues subtly throughout the narrative as suspense builds. Highly recommended. [See Prepub Alert, 8/22/14.]--Reba Leiding, emeritus, James Madison Univ. Lib., Harrisonburg, VA

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2014

The multi-award-winning Oksanen sells more books in her native Finland than J.K. Rowing; Purge, her first novel to be translated into English, was both an IndieBound and a Discover Great New Writers pick. All of which bodes well for this tale of resistance, collaboration, and totalitarian control in 1940s Estonia, where freedom fighter Roland goes into hiding even as his self-serving cousin Edgar backs the invading Germans. Later, in the 1960s, Soviet apparatchik Edgar is desperate to keep his past submerged.

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2015

Originally published in Finnish and a big seller in Finland and Sweden, this new work from Oksanen (Purge) opens in wartime Estonia, a country invaded both by the Soviets and by the Nazis and after World War II integrated into the USSR. Two cousins are dodging Russian troops in the countryside as the front shifts. Roland is an insurgent who supports a free Estonia, but villainous Edgar has collaborated with the Russians and now forges a new identity and finds work with the Nazis. Edgar's wife, Juudit, a naive woman who doesn't realize that Edgar is a closeted homosexual, moves to the city, where she becomes a German SS officer's "war bride." The interconnections among the Estonian civilians and the difficult decisions they must make haunt them throughout the war and after. The story line stretches into the 1960s, when Edgar has reinvented himself yet again, insinuating himself with the KGB. He is still searching for Roland, whom Edgar fears could puncture his armor of lies. VERDICT Oksanen depicts civilian life in wartime and under communist oppression in rich historical detail, skillfully manipulating chronology and threading clues subtly throughout the narrative as suspense builds. Highly recommended. [See Prepub Alert, 8/22/14.]--Reba Leiding, emeritus, James Madison Univ. Lib., Harrisonburg, VA

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.