Why a Booktrail?
1809: A short novel which beautifully evokes many aspects of Finland
The Brothers
What you need to know before your trail
Finland, 1809.
Brothers Henrik and Erik fought on opposite sides in the war between Sweden and Russia. Peace has now been declared, but when they return to their snowed-in farm, it soon transpires that peace has not followed them home. For old tensions, problems and secrets have been waiting in the closet to fall out…And the effect is shocking.
Travel Guide
Rural Finland – a landscape beautiful in appearance but beneath the icy facade lies danger and tension.
Returning here from years of conflict in the war is hard for the two brothers and they are forced together in one of the most inhospitable places on earth. Each of the brothers comes back with their own baggage and home seems to be as unforgiving as anywhere else, if not more so.
Trudging through the snow, the inclement weather and the harsh and brutal landscape, the only guest to welcome them is treachery and tragedy. The footprints in the snow are the only signs of life here and even they are being slowly eroded one by one.
As each of the characters tells their own version of events in isolation, the overall atmosphere is as dark as the foreboding forests
The mother of the boys has this to say – “…for a time I was able to watch the boys grow up with at least distant pride. But boys are fated to grow into men, and a mother has to follow this tragedy as a silent bystander. And now it seems they will kill each other, and then this, too, can be added to my never-ending list of losses.”
The figure of the mother, the old mistress, is one of the most chilling and uncomfortable character in the cold Finnish forest. Claustrophobic? Indeed.
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