Why a Booktrail?
1990s: Estonia during the dying days of the Soviet Union
The Death of the Perfect Sentence
What you need to know before your trail
A political thriller set mainly in Estonia during the dying days of the Soviet Union. It follows a group of young pro-independence dissidents who have an elaborate scheme for smuggling copies of KGB files out of the country, and whose fates are entangled, through family and romantic ties, with the security services who are tracking them.
It describes the curious minutiae of everyday life, offers wry observations on the period through personal experience, and asks universal questions about how interpersonal relationships are affected when caught up in momentous historical changes.
Locations
ResetTravel Guide
Estonia
The city of Tallinn is a city of two smells according to Indrek of the novel”
Our home had municipal heating , where black smoke billowed from the chinneys in the old town, dissolved into the air and mingled with the smell of pastries coming from the shops of Karja Street and the Park and Tallinn cafes.
These pastries…
Those Veinna pastires topleld with yellow confectioner’s cream , whcih the Commuist Party and government had decreed should be called Moscow pastire, even if no one had heard of them in oscow”
..reveal the background and mentality of the country at large:
“Our mental landscape was different back then. There were connecting nodes and then there were big lblack holes, a wilderness where your cry would never be heard” Communication of all kinds was hard, the communist rules were hard and the cost of talking was high. Even having a telephone would cost in the region of 12 thousand kroons. Compare this to a good salary in Tallin of 1000 kroons per month and you see how expensive and impossible it was.”Times change but problems remain” we are told.
Kiek in de Kök Museum and Bastion Tunnels
This is one one side of Hajumae Park which “Almost no one apart from the odd map buff and couple of city government staff knew that its official name was Soviet Street.” The Kiek in de Kök Museum and Bastion Tunnels is now a restored cannon tower from the 15th century, now museum with exhibits & tours of secret tunnels.
Tammsaare park.
The friends in the book meet at the Theatre and it’s just at the back of Tammsaare park. This park has gone through some changes! – In 1896, one corner of the park became the new site of Tallinn’s market, which was formerly located on Town Hall Square. Then, between 1903-1905 the park was home to a giant wooden ‘Interimstheater’ – a venue for theatre performances. The park is named after the Estonia author A. H. Tammsaare whose 100th anniversary was in 1978.
Tiigiveski Park
Tiigiveski Park was created in the early 20th century at the Härjapea (Ox Head) River stream bed and Tiigiveski Pond. This section of Härjapea River was finally enclosed underground only before the World War II. Because of the idlers hanging around, people started to call this place Pasatski (Rogue’s) Park. The park in its present shape originates from the Soviet times, the „Kalev” basketball hall was erected in 1962 on the grounds of the former gardening farm and arboretum. You can still see the buildings of central hospital which has existed here since the 18th century.
Streetview Maps
A) Tallinn -Kiek in de Kök Museum
B) Tallin - Harjumägi park
Booktrail Boarding Pass: The Death of the Perfect Sentence
Destination : Estonia, Tallin Author/Guide: Rein Raud Departure Time: 1990s
Back to ResultsWhere Next?
