Why a Booktrail?
1938: Hitler’s expansionist policies are arousing both anger and admiration, not least in Helsinki’s Wednesday Club…
The Wednesday Club
What you need to know before your trail
Helsinki’s Wednesday Club is a relaxed gentleman’s club and all the members are old friends of lawyer Claes Thune. However, cohesion is breaking up with the political unrest in Europe and the unsettling events outside are having a direct effect within.
Thune has his own problems as well – recently divorced, he’s lost the enthusiasm for his law practice. He hopes that his new and efficient new secretary, Matilda Wiik will improve things for him
But behind her polished exterior Mrs Wiik is tormented by memories of the Finnish Civil War, when she experienced horrors she has been trying to forget ever since. And one evening, with the Wednesday Club gathered in Thune’s office, she hears a voice she hoped she would never hear again.
She is suddenly plunged back into the past. But this time she is no longer a helpless victim . .
Travel Guide
1930’s Finland
In 1938 when the book is set, Finland was a country with a unique set of problems. It was independent but was severely affected and influenced by its overpowering Russian neighbour, not to mention the rise of Nazism. Many political factions and politicians are fighting for supremacy and control and Finland is stuck in the middle.
The Wednesday Club
The Wednesday Club was a group of Thune’s friends who tool it in turns to host drinking sessions on the third Wednesday of each month:
“The German march into a jubilant Austria would be that evening’s topic of conversation, he had no doubt about that. Several days had passed now, but everyone was still talking about it.”
“A Greater Germany,rightful heir to the Roman Empire, a Global Reich with a thousand glorious years ahead of it”
Booktrail Boarding Pass: The Wednesday Club
Author/Guide: Kjell Westö Destination: Helsinki Departure Time: 1938 onwards
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