A review by purplemuskogee
The End of Drum-Time by Hanna Pylväinen

emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I have really enjoyed this historical novel, which focuses on a small community - in the Arctic circle, between Finland and Russia, where a Lutheran preacher is trying to convert the Sami population, a liquor merchant is trying to sell them alcohol, and the Sami herders are trying to cling to their identity while Russia and Finland decide to close the borders, making it impossible for them to move their reindeer herds. We follow a few characters closely - Ivvár, a young Sami reindeer herder, whose alcoholic father has a divine revelation and becomes religious; Willa, the daughter of the Lutheran pastor, who falls in love with Ivvár; Risten, who was previously in love with Ivvár, but has accepted to marry a better match, and Henrik, the liquor merchant who worries about the debts the Sami owe him. 
It was well-written and dramatic, and covered a topic I know very little about but found really interesting. The characters felt really well-written and had enough depth, and the novel kept going further in terms of drama, until the end and the fate of the characters, which felt inevitable.

Free copy sent by Netgalley.
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