Purge

Description

Those who deny History Are doomed to repeat it... Deep in the overgrown Estonian forest, two women are caught in a deadly snare. Zara is a prostitute, and a murderer. Aliide is a communist sympathizer, the widow of a party member, a blood traitor. And retribution is coming for them both. A haunting, intimate and gripping story of suspicion and betrayal set against a backdrop of the oppressive Soviet regime and European war.

Sofi Oksanen was born in Finland and a former graduate of the Finnish Theatre Academy. She is the author of three novels. Purge is her first novel to be published in English translation. She lives in Helsinki.

"The multidimensionality of Purge is startling. . . . [The novel] encompasses the grand themes . . . [of] shame, betrayal, guilt, atonement. . . with the complexity and seriousness worthy of them. . . . Oksanen has publicly criticized the trendy nostalgia for the Soviet Union, and those who . . . stick a Lenin pin on their chest without a thought to what they are advertising. With Purge, Oksanen doesn't just rap these pin wearers on the knuckles, she hits them with a sledgehammer." -- Turun Sanomat "A bravura work, deeply engaged with [Estonia's] knotted history, sparing but potent in its use of irony, and containing an empathic treatment of all the miserable choices Estonians faced during their periods of oppression. . . . Oksanen has crafted a stirring and humane work of art."--Jacob Silverman, "The New Republic" "A stunner . . . ["Purge" is] a compelling look at what we do to survive."--Karen R. Long, "The Plain Dealer" (Cleveland) ""Purge" is that very rare thing, a sheer masterpiece . . . A marvel . . . I hope that everyone in the world who knows how to read, reads Purge."--Nancy Huston, author of "Fault Lines " "Oksanen's fluid, unadorned prose gives shape to unspeakable violence and illuminates the process of remembering."--"The L Magazine "(Top 10 Books of 2010) "A captivating book about two women with dark secrets and an underlying connection. . . . Oksanen skillfully weaves histories together to form a rich, complex nove."--Shelf Awareness (Top 10 Books of 2010) "[A] bold combination of history, politics, and suspense."--"Sunday Times "(UK) "This is a novel of big issues--the sex industry, the Soviet annexation of Estonia after World War II, the Chernobyl disaster, the tumultuous years immediately after the breakup of the USSR. It's a lot to take on, but Oksanen manages to keep her focus tight . . . handling a complicated, tricky story with deftness and skill. Purge is a serious book, but not a dour one. It has a thriller's air of suspense . . . but there is a tragic core to this story that will reward closer attention."--Bookslut "[A] taut, well-crafted tale of Europe's still living post-war pain."--"Booklist" "Sofi Oksanen's disturbing, riveting novel Purge . . . is a jolt. Set in 1992, only three years removed from the joyful optimism undammed by the demolition of the Berlin Wall, Purge burns through the mists to show how decades of debasement have twisted society in the former USSR into onea