Oksanen's "Purge"

There are books which should not be written. And for certain not by their
respective authors. "Purge" by the Estonian/Finnish writer Sofi Oksanen is
one of those.

Superbly written text gave me shivers not once and, to be sure, the above
statement is all about the content, not about the author's skill. It is
expressing my frustration by the topic.

The story is simple and all too known: people caught in the historical
events, killed, raped, tortured and psychically tormented by the effects of
that.

Intertwinning of the 1990-ies story with the events about and after the WWII
is a less usual mixing, and Oksanen ingeniously does it. Together with the
family which is a multiple victim of war, the grand-daughter becomes a victim
of human trafficking and forcing to prostitution. In effect, she becomes
equal to the previous victims of war.

Why I wrote a young, too young writer Sofi Oksanen (being at the beginning
of her 30-ies when writing it!) should not write such a story? She is describing
the bestiality of men. And women. In her writing I felt the vibes of Jens
Bjorneboe, another chronicler of human bestiality. He perfidly and exactly
noted down, jotted down, what disgusting things small bears can do to the other
small bears. It is not something a young person should know.

But obviously she did. And what to do with it.

What strikes in her writing is the fact that she knew so well to put equal the
suffering of both "sides". There is no sides when it comes to suffering,
especially the suffering of war and its aftermath.

It all is abomination, and it is something so well shown in this writing.
Tormentors were, are the tormented, criminals are, ironically, merely the
executors of justice.

Who could like such a world? And it is the reality of too many, too many people.

Goodbye to Reason, indeed!