(This is a guest entry of sorts written by Daniel since I feel like as a Finnish classics, his thoughts on this one may be more intriguing than mine :) )
The inaugural premise of this book leaves a curious impression on the reader, it is introduced in a way which paves the emotional wave awaiting the reader; this is followed by brutal, desperate situations that you share with the soldiers whom you have come to know and love.
After reading this moderately long book, I have a sense of
loss; one of the most memorable aspects of this novel is the connection that
you gain with the characters. One can confidently compare this connection to
the relationships seen between the soldiers in the HBO miniseries Band of
Brothers. This connection does not necessarily stem from the bonding between
each character but rather from the delicate descriptions and intricate stories
belonging to each of the characters. Some characters I abhorred and some I highly
enjoyed; but whether I hated or loved I still cared for them. I will
purposefully avoid any information relating to spoilers but it was quite an
exciting/traumatising ordeal following each character; that is all I will say
on this.
Unknown Soldiers was translated from Finnish to English by
Liesl Yamaguchi. I therefore cannot give a judgement of the novel through how
the author intended it to be but for what I read I gained a sense of pride,
courage and how brutal war can be. It is all too common these days for war to
be glamorised in Hollywood by a single soldier, cemented in mud, blood and
usually an American flag as he simultaneously eradicates numerous people with a
single bullet. The beauty of Unknown Soldiers is its raw, in-depth, realistic
cruelty and violence. Nothing is glamourized and it feels like the most
realistic account of war I have read; this expresses the quality of the book
as, it is fictional. I have never read
or watched anything similar to this, it was frightening to imagine and is
definitely the closest I wish to be to a war zone.
I am a very lucky individual to have Finnish girlfriend, due
to this my knowledge of Finnish history is much greater than the average
non-Finnish person. This novel appropriately articulates a sense of pride and
understanding from a Finnish perspective. It discusses the topic of war from a
point of view that doesn’t necessarily fall under the term ‘slander’ but rather
understanding. I believe my former, non-Finnish experienced self would
sympathise with the characters and opinions of the book. It is not a lecture
about the diplomatic decisions circulating around the ethics of war, but it
highlights upon the peoples war and why ‘dancing with the devil’ might be the
way to go.
On the most part, the translation was very good but
sometimes the sentences did not flow as well as they could, they all made sense
but seemed to stem from a verbally spoken point of view, rather from a written
piece of literature.
The plot of this novel was very simple. I am very glad it is
not complex and full of crazy side plots that are so very common these days. It
shadows a battalion of soldiers from the completion of their training until the
end of a four year long war (1941 – 1945). This is based upon the continuation
war of Finland; I would recommend you read upon this war, as from an
Englishman’s point of view I found this rather interesting. The simplicity and elegance
of the plot did not drag, even when the book lead us through the standard lives
of soldiers on the front line. There is an eloquent assortment of surprise and normality,
which gives a steady and exciting pace of the novel.
An interesting point is that this book is based upon a war,
yet it is entirely fictional. Some of the characters are vaguely based upon
real life individuals but none of the battles actually took place. The author
participated in the war and started writing the first half while at war. For
myself, part of the enchantment of this book is its ability to describe and
articulate situations that could be real. Instead of replicating something
real, it produces a passage of text purely from abstracted imagination of
events, in essence this book is more detailed than a text that stems from a
real battle as little details are not missed.
The characters in this book exceeded in captivating my
interest, as their development was profound. Similar to real life you get
individuals who stagnate in a pitiful array of arrogance, some who have always
been what they are or what they want to be and those who desire is to excel in
every way manageable. The range of characters I this book satisfy these
characteristics in the best way possible as you can see and feel how the war
wears them down and turns them into someone new.
Unknown Soldiers was given to me
as a present; gifted as a prized collective of Finnish literature and read
simultaneously across four countries with my beloved girlfriend. I was
pleasantly surprised with its direct, ruthless expression of war and the
progression of how men can develop into inhumane machines but still hold
humanity to their heart. It takes you through a relinquished journey, from
childish wishes, adult impersonations to absolute abandonment; this is truly a
novel that should be seated upon the greats of war related books.
PS. I love the cover.
PS. I love the cover.
