196 Books: Estonia

 When the Doves Disappeared by Sofi Oksanen

Estonia is in northern Europe:

And the summary:

1941: In Communist-ruled, war-ravaged Estonia, two men are fleeing from the Red Army—Roland, a fiercely principled freedom fighter, and his slippery cousin Edgar. When the Germans arrive, Roland goes into hiding; Edgar abandons his unhappy wife, Juudit, and takes on a new identity as a loyal supporter of the Nazi regime . . . 1963: Estonia is again under Communist control, independence even further out of reach behind the Iron Curtain. Edgar is now a Soviet apparatchik, desperate to hide the secrets of his past life and stay close to those in power. But his fate remains entangled with Roland’s, and with Juudit, who may hold the key to uncovering the truth . . .

Great acts of deception and heroism collide in this masterful story of surveillance, passion, and betrayal, as Sofi Oksanen brings to life the frailty—and the resilience—of humanity under the shadow of tyranny.

I think it's rather obvious that I'm kind of fascinated with WWII. Some of these books have shown me, as this one has, just how much of a bubble my history education has been. Like Egypt, this is another example of a country that welcomed Germany and hoped for their victory. 

In the 1940s sections of the book, the Bolsheviks trying to take over Estonia, and Germany is trying to run them out and "free" Estonia. So, honestly, it makes sense for them to support Germany and be glad of that occupation. Of course, as the years pass, it comes out what Germany is actually doing with the Jews and those they deem undesirable. But, and this feels horrible to say, but I felt sad when the Soviet Union prevailed and then just took over the country again. So in the 1960s sections they're under Communist rule and still don't get to have their country back. 

So then we come to the characters. On one extreme you have Roland, who stuck to his principles and fought to have his country back. At the other extreme you have sneaky, cunning, douchebag Edgar. Who I obviously hated. There's something so cowardly about a person who can put on a different mask for any occasion and who will lie, cheat, steal, kill, and otherwise do anything needed to gain favor and power. And Juudit was kind of in the middle, really just trying to get through life and be somewhat happy.

Here's the bad part: the story was good and entertaining, but the ending was completely unsatisfying. The bad guy prevailed. And he basically sacrificed his family to get there. And while I truly believe self-preservation is extremely persuasive, it's not the same as severe selfishness.