Reviews

4.5 stars; might round it up down the line.

The End of Drum-Time was gorgeous, thought-provoking, informative, evocative, and tragic at the same time, and I had a great time reading it, hooked from start to finish. Hanna Pylväinen's writing style really spoke to me (though I could have done with slightly shorter sentences); I'm kind of impressed with how she made such an essentially quiet, slow story with very flawed characters feel engaging, tense, and vivid.

I didn't know much about Sami culture, the oppression they've been under, or settler policies across Scandinavia but this book was also – beyond the complicated coming-of-age story at the heart of it – an insightful dive into how colonialism, proselytisation, classism, misogyny, xenophobia, and racism all intersected to weave a horrible political tapestry that is the background of this novel, and reality (to this day, I think) for many Sami.

I'm not sure I'm entirely satisfied with the quite open ending, and the unresolved questions left, but I definitely will keep this reading experience in my memories and an eye out on future works by Hanna Pylväinen.

stories_and_squats's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

rsinclair6536's review against another edition

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5.0

This is what romance writers should aspire to. It has so much meat to chew on: gender, class, generational and ethnic issues; religious (personal and organizational), addiction, and family issues. Property issues. Loyalty issues. But most of all, love issues.

Set in the mid 1800s at the intersection of Sweden, Finland, Norway, and Russia, Pylväinen puts her reindeer herder characters into a stunningly beautiful environment of mountains, lakes, rivers, and forests. And constant snow. And cold, cold, cold. They are always cold. They are pursuing the only way of life their families know. The reindeer stock, hovering around the characters in many scenes, provide their food, their clothing, and their currency for anything else.

But settlers are beginning to invade. Farmers, a shopkeeper, a minister and his large family. New ideas and temptations. A strident Christianity.

As the newcomers and the resident herders mix, attractions between individuals bloom as they navigate their passion and their responsibilities. Pylväinen gives nearly equal space to female and male lovers, taking the reader deep into their longings, joys, frustrations, and deeply felt pain. But the men are quieter and seem to think less.

I am a hopeless romantic, and I liked this book because it gave me characters who had so much more going on in their lives than their love life. It put romance into perspective which lent it more power than many writers can muster.