Edward Lucas, Eastern Approaches, Economist,com Power and loss are the themes of Sofi Oksanen's gripping novel, "Purge", which brings to life two eras, one all but forgotten, and the other conveniently overlooked.
The all but forgotten time is the communist seizure of power in eastern Europe, and the accompanying effects: rape, torture, murder, deportation, betrayal, courage, denial. The book happens to be set in Estonia, but it could be anywhere between the Baltic and the Black sea.
The protagonists are humble people: solid country peasants, minor officials, school children and pensioners. not movers and shakers. But they get moved and shaken in the maelstrom unleashed by the totalitarian superpowers to east and west.
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