Sofi Oksanen named Person of the Year in Estonia

Actual reviews of Oksanen's novel have been less flattering than the writer's own popularity might suggest

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Sofi Oksanen is a thoroughly positive person, said Merit Kopli, the Editor-in-Chief of Postimees, the largest daily newspaper in Estonia.
      On Thursday Postimees named Sofi Oksanen Person of the Year 2009. The choice was unanimous.
     
The popularity of Oksanen’s novel Puhdistus (”Purge”) in Finland has showed the Estonians that the difficult history of Estonia can be understood even abroad.
      When Puhdistus was showered with literary prizes in Finland, the atmosphere in Estonia was like an Estonian skier had won a gold medal at the Olympic Games. Puhdistus has been translated into 26 languages.
      ”Sofi Oksanen is Estonia’s unofficial cultural ambassador”, said Kopli.
     
Sofi Oksanen’s meetings with her readers in various parts of Estonia have been a success. In Tallinn a man knelt in the street in front of Oksanen. The incident describes well how Estonians feel about the author.
      "Puhdistus has also had an impact on business connections”, said Valdar Liive, the Director of Foreign Investments and Trade Promotion at Enterprise Estonia, Helsinki, speaking at the nomination ceremony on Thursday.
     
Today, Postimees writes about Sofi Oksanen in its leading article.
      The different conceptions of history in the two adjacent states is not only a consequence of their different fates but it is also attributable to the different knowledge base of these states on which their conception of history rests. It is this gap, an unbelievably large difference between Finland and Estonia relating to historical memories, that Sofi Oksanen has started to fill, Postimees writes.
     
The award-winning Puhdistus by the praised author has been a tough nut for Estonian reviewers to crack.
      A large number of articles on her as a person have been written, while reviews on her book have been slow to appear, even though the Estonian translation of the novel was published already last spring.
      Today - Friday, the Estonian cultural journal Sirp has finally published a review on Oksanen’s novel. It is surprisingly critical.
      When it comes to earlier reviews published in Estonia, Puhdistus has not been received with such unconditional warmth as might have been expected on the basis of Oksanen’s personal popularity in the country.
     
A critic from the weekly Eesti Ekspress wrote that the same stories were written in Estonia already ten years ago.
      The unqualified praise delivered by Eesti Päevaleht, the second largest daily Estonian newspaper, has been almost the only exception among the reviews received by Puhdistus in Estonia.
      Nevertheless, among Estonian readers themselves Puhdistus has been widely welcomed.
      Writer Sofi Oksanen was born in Finland in 1977, but she has Estonian roots.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Sofi Oksanen novel to be translated into Russian (6.11.2008)
  Finlandia Prize goes to Sofi Oksanen and portrait of Estonia under Soviet occupation (5.12.2008)
  Sofi Oksanen invited to St. Petersburg poetry evening after all (12.8.2008)

See also:
  Hundreds of listeners and a handful of protesters attend publication of book on Estonia (24.3.2009)

Links:
  Sofi Oksanen (Wikipedia)
  Sofi Oksanen (WSOY Publishers website)

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