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House of Orphans
Finland 1901. Eeva, the young orphaned daughter of a revolutionary, is sent from the orphanage to work as housekeeper for Thomas, a widowed country doctor. Her enigmatic presence disturbs Thomas as much as it fascinates him, shattering all the certainties of his life. Eeva longs to be back in Helsinki with the comrades of her childhood, particularly Lauri. But life there is full of danger. The power of the Russian Empire over its subject peoples is growing more oppressive, but resistance to the Tsar's rule is growing too. Some call such resistance terrorism; others call it a fight for freedom. This spellbinding story of love and loneliness is also about the tensions that arise in a country emerging into independence.
368 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
33 people are currently reading
489 people want to read
About the author
Helen Dunmore
117 books969 followersI was born in December 1952, in Yorkshire, the second of four children. My father was the eldest of twelve, and this extended family has no doubt had a strong influence on my life, as have my own children. In a large family you hear a great many stories. You also come to understand very early that stories hold quite different meanings for different listeners, and can be recast from many viewpoints.
Poetry was very important to me from childhood. I began by listening to and learning by heart all kinds of rhymes and hymns and ballads, and then went on to make up my own poems, using the forms I’d heard. Writing these down came a little later.
I studied English at the University of York, and after graduation taught English as a foreign language in Finland.
At around this time I began to write the poems which formed my first poetry collection, The Apple Fall, and to publish these in magazines. I also completed two novels; fortunately neither survives, and it was more than ten years before I wrote another novel.
During this time I published several collections of poems, and wrote some of the short stories which were later collected in Love of Fat Men. I began to travel a great deal within the UK and around the world, for poetry tours and writing residences. This experience of working in many different countries and cultures has been very important to my work. I reviewed poetry for Stand and Poetry Review and later for The Observer, and subsequently reviewed fiction for The Observer, The Times and The Guardian. My critical work includes introductions to the poems of Emily Brontë, the short stories of D H Lawrence and F Scott Fitzgerald, a study of Virginia Woolf’s relationships with women and Introductions to the Folio Society's edition of Anna Karenina and to the new Penguin Classics edition of Tolstoy's My Confession.
During the 1980s and early 1990s I taught poetry and creative writing, tutored residential writing courses for the Arvon Foundation and took part in the Poetry Society's Writer in Schools scheme, as well as giving readings and workshops in schools, hospitals, prisons and every other kind of place where a poem could conceivably be welcome. I also taught at the University of Glamorgan, the University of Bristol's Continuing Education Department and for the Open College of the Arts.
In the late 1980s I began to publish short stories, and these were the beginning of a breakthrough into fiction. What I had learned of prose technique through the short story gave me the impetus to start writing novels. My first novel for children was Going to Egypt, published in 1992, and my first novel for adults was Zennor in Darkness, published in 1993, which won the McKitterick Prize. This was also my first researched novel, set in the First World War and dealing with the period when D H Lawrence and his wife Frieda lived in Zennor in Cornwall, and came under suspicion as German spies.
My third novel, A Spell of Winter, won the inaugural Orange Prize for Fiction in 1996, and since then I have published a number of novels, short story collections and books for children. Full details of all these books are available on this website. The last of The Ingo Quartet, The Crossing of Ingo, was published in paperback in Spring 2009.
My seventh novel, The Siege (2001) was shortlisted both for the Whitbread Novel Award and the Orange Prize for Fiction. This was another researched novel, which grew from a lifelong love of Russian history, culture and literature. It is is set in Leningrad during the first year of the siege of the city by German forces, which lasted for 880 days from the fall of Mga on 30th August 1941. The Siege has been translated into Russian by Tatyana Averchina, and extracts have been broadcast on radio in St Petersburg. House of Orphans was published in 2006, and in 2008 Counting the Stars. Its central characters are the Roman poet Catullus, who lived during the last years of the Republic,
Poetry was very important to me from childhood. I began by listening to and learning by heart all kinds of rhymes and hymns and ballads, and then went on to make up my own poems, using the forms I’d heard. Writing these down came a little later.
I studied English at the University of York, and after graduation taught English as a foreign language in Finland.
At around this time I began to write the poems which formed my first poetry collection, The Apple Fall, and to publish these in magazines. I also completed two novels; fortunately neither survives, and it was more than ten years before I wrote another novel.
During this time I published several collections of poems, and wrote some of the short stories which were later collected in Love of Fat Men. I began to travel a great deal within the UK and around the world, for poetry tours and writing residences. This experience of working in many different countries and cultures has been very important to my work. I reviewed poetry for Stand and Poetry Review and later for The Observer, and subsequently reviewed fiction for The Observer, The Times and The Guardian. My critical work includes introductions to the poems of Emily Brontë, the short stories of D H Lawrence and F Scott Fitzgerald, a study of Virginia Woolf’s relationships with women and Introductions to the Folio Society's edition of Anna Karenina and to the new Penguin Classics edition of Tolstoy's My Confession.
During the 1980s and early 1990s I taught poetry and creative writing, tutored residential writing courses for the Arvon Foundation and took part in the Poetry Society's Writer in Schools scheme, as well as giving readings and workshops in schools, hospitals, prisons and every other kind of place where a poem could conceivably be welcome. I also taught at the University of Glamorgan, the University of Bristol's Continuing Education Department and for the Open College of the Arts.
In the late 1980s I began to publish short stories, and these were the beginning of a breakthrough into fiction. What I had learned of prose technique through the short story gave me the impetus to start writing novels. My first novel for children was Going to Egypt, published in 1992, and my first novel for adults was Zennor in Darkness, published in 1993, which won the McKitterick Prize. This was also my first researched novel, set in the First World War and dealing with the period when D H Lawrence and his wife Frieda lived in Zennor in Cornwall, and came under suspicion as German spies.
My third novel, A Spell of Winter, won the inaugural Orange Prize for Fiction in 1996, and since then I have published a number of novels, short story collections and books for children. Full details of all these books are available on this website. The last of The Ingo Quartet, The Crossing of Ingo, was published in paperback in Spring 2009.
My seventh novel, The Siege (2001) was shortlisted both for the Whitbread Novel Award and the Orange Prize for Fiction. This was another researched novel, which grew from a lifelong love of Russian history, culture and literature. It is is set in Leningrad during the first year of the siege of the city by German forces, which lasted for 880 days from the fall of Mga on 30th August 1941. The Siege has been translated into Russian by Tatyana Averchina, and extracts have been broadcast on radio in St Petersburg. House of Orphans was published in 2006, and in 2008 Counting the Stars. Its central characters are the Roman poet Catullus, who lived during the last years of the Republic,
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 103 reviews
June 15, 2023
The book tells the story of Eeva (pronounced Ava) an orphan, who leaves the orphanage to go to work for the local doctor, Thomas. Thomas falls in love with Eeva, but she is in love with her childhood sweetheart Lauri. She leaves to go to Helsinki to be with Lauri and make a life for herself there, but when Lauri is arrested by the Okhrana, the Tsarist secret police, and questioned about being a spy, Eeva has to call for the doctor to come to their aid.
The book started off really well. The first chapters about the Orphans and about the doctor were interesting and really drew me in, and the premise was great. However the book changed when Eeva went to Helsinki, and became very political and rather dull. It went on for too long. Towards the end, Eeva sends for Thomas, and he declares his love for her, but she rejects him and he returns to his village - this bit of the book felt very rushed.
The ending was poor. The author recaps what has happened to the male characters, but we are left guessing whether Eeva and Lauri find happiness. It was almost as though she ran out of steam!
It was beautifully written in places, but it just didn’t engage me. It took me several weeks to read it, because it was a chore rather than a pleasure and if it wasn’t for it being a Bookworms book, I doubt I’d have finished it!
The book started off really well. The first chapters about the Orphans and about the doctor were interesting and really drew me in, and the premise was great. However the book changed when Eeva went to Helsinki, and became very political and rather dull. It went on for too long. Towards the end, Eeva sends for Thomas, and he declares his love for her, but she rejects him and he returns to his village - this bit of the book felt very rushed.
The ending was poor. The author recaps what has happened to the male characters, but we are left guessing whether Eeva and Lauri find happiness. It was almost as though she ran out of steam!
It was beautifully written in places, but it just didn’t engage me. It took me several weeks to read it, because it was a chore rather than a pleasure and if it wasn’t for it being a Bookworms book, I doubt I’d have finished it!
December 28, 2012
As always, I enjoyed Helen Dunmore's wonderfully poetic turns of phrase. That she's a poet as well as a novelist is apparent throughout her work.
April 10, 2021
Typical Dunmore, written beautifully and well researched... however, the reason it doesn't get 5 stars is because it never really took off, and the ending is very flat.
November 21, 2015
3.5 Stars
I'm still trying to find a book to match up to the outstanding The Siege. Although decent and on a similar vein, House of Orphans is not that book. It touches upon the damage parents do to children; coming of age in a time of social unrest; the blurred lines between freedom fighting and terrorism and whether terrorism can ever be justified; the many paths to becoming a terrorist; how our station in life affects our opinions... all of which could be very poignant to read in the modern day, given the seemingly ever-present terrorist threat, except that a bit like in Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go, none of these topics are ever explored in sufficient detail. We skip huge chunks of time, so all the important plot events that so shape our understanding happen entirely off screen, which is rather frustrating. I like an open ended book - that makes you think - but not quite so open ended that you have no idea what happened or who characters really are.
If anyone has any clarifications on Sasha, hit me up!
I'm still trying to find a book to match up to the outstanding The Siege. Although decent and on a similar vein, House of Orphans is not that book. It touches upon the damage parents do to children; coming of age in a time of social unrest; the blurred lines between freedom fighting and terrorism and whether terrorism can ever be justified; the many paths to becoming a terrorist; how our station in life affects our opinions... all of which could be very poignant to read in the modern day, given the seemingly ever-present terrorist threat, except that a bit like in Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go, none of these topics are ever explored in sufficient detail. We skip huge chunks of time, so all the important plot events that so shape our understanding happen entirely off screen, which is rather frustrating. I like an open ended book - that makes you think - but not quite so open ended that you have no idea what happened or who characters really are.
If anyone has any clarifications on Sasha, hit me up!
March 5, 2022
This is a dense read. A fascinating story of Finland in 1902-4 and the countries attempts to avoid Russification. It follows a number of characters each giving a different perspective on life at the time - the Orphan Eeva is the link to all and her spirit and understanding separate her from the others who haven’t her guile or learning. We feel the heirachy of the society - poverty of those surviving and the relative comfort of those with land or profession. Magda is an interesting modern woman- independent , cultured and feisty but we don’t see her character develop. The plot follows the twists of the anarchists ( or freedom fighters ?) and of their means to an end but their convoluted actions are told through the eyes of either the young the drunk or the stupid and there is always the feeling of them being pawns in the big man’s game. It isn’t a narrative that winds up nicely - it is a tale at a point in history. A history I know nothing about so it took the explanation written at the end to place it contextually ( maybe should have read that first). This was excellently written with wonderful descriptions and believable characters clearly well researched yet it felt a hard read and at the end I felt disappointed .
November 27, 2018
This book was not what I expected it to be, it wasn’t just a story about a Finnish orphan girl who ends up working at a doctor’s house No this story has more depth to it. It involves politics, history, tragedy and romance and so much more. Although I didn’t get some of the character’s behavior especially when Sasha was talking to Eeva at his room drunk I don’t understand why was he so desperate, what making him lose his mind? wish the writer gave some insight about his life, also I wanted to know what happened when Laurie met with Eeva at the end!!! I’m trying not let the ending of this novel ruin it for me because I enjoyed reading it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 19, 2019
Before reading House of Orphans, I had read two of Dunmore's books. One I really enjoyed, the other I thought was rubbish. I found this one at the charity shop and it sounded interesting, so I told myself for 99p I would give Dunmore another chance. I'm really glad I did.
House of Orphans was not what I expected at all, but it was a nice surprise. It was one of these slow, poetic novels, and I really liked it.
House of Orphans was not what I expected at all, but it was a nice surprise. It was one of these slow, poetic novels, and I really liked it.
August 22, 2024
Did not understand the ending. Loved the first half, the second with its political subterfuge not so much.
January 19, 2009
I will admit it; I have a rather unhealthy obsession with Finland. So when I spotted this book I was immediately interested.
I don't remember a lot about this book, depsite having read it little over a year ago. I remember that it was a fairly decent book, and quite interesting if you like light historical reads. But some parts of this book were light (where the main character is working for the doctor in his big house) whereas others are quite heavy (all of the political stuff in Helsinki). The ending seemed extremely rushed and it didn't really conclude anything. All of a sudden, the doctor went to visit the main character in Helsinki, and it seemed to me that the author thought "Oh! I forgot all about his character! Let's shove him in somewhere and make it look like it was part of the plot." One character was banished back to the Finnish countryside, another ended up wandering around in some woods for no explained reason (was he drunk? Insane?) and another was in jail, or just about to be released.
I don't know whether I would recommend this book or not. I remember enjoying it at the time, but it's not the kind of book which you can close and think "Well, that was time well spent" or "I feel satisfied because of that ending." I closed it and then reopened it to check that I hadn't skipped any pages; I was sure that Dunmore wouldn't end a book on a scene with a minor character rambling through the woods, possibly insane!
On second thoughts, I'm ducking the rating to three stars rather than four.
On another note, Helen Dunmore wrote a kids book called 'Adamina's Blanket' which was a favourite of mine as a child!
I don't remember a lot about this book, depsite having read it little over a year ago. I remember that it was a fairly decent book, and quite interesting if you like light historical reads. But some parts of this book were light (where the main character is working for the doctor in his big house) whereas others are quite heavy (all of the political stuff in Helsinki). The ending seemed extremely rushed and it didn't really conclude anything. All of a sudden, the doctor went to visit the main character in Helsinki, and it seemed to me that the author thought "Oh! I forgot all about his character! Let's shove him in somewhere and make it look like it was part of the plot." One character was banished back to the Finnish countryside, another ended up wandering around in some woods for no explained reason (was he drunk? Insane?) and another was in jail, or just about to be released.
I don't know whether I would recommend this book or not. I remember enjoying it at the time, but it's not the kind of book which you can close and think "Well, that was time well spent" or "I feel satisfied because of that ending." I closed it and then reopened it to check that I hadn't skipped any pages; I was sure that Dunmore wouldn't end a book on a scene with a minor character rambling through the woods, possibly insane!
On second thoughts, I'm ducking the rating to three stars rather than four.
On another note, Helen Dunmore wrote a kids book called 'Adamina's Blanket' which was a favourite of mine as a child!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 22, 2008
http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/5...
Although this book is titled 'House of Orphans', we actually meet very few orphans, in fact only Eeva, female protagonist of the story, and Anna Lusa, who runs the orphanage. The orphanage is just used to set the scene for the story of Eeva because it is to the orphanage that she is sent when her father, a revolutionary and her only family dies.
When she is older the orphanage places her in service with a widowed doctor who finds himself falling in love with her. So he is somewhat relieved when she decides to return to live in her home town of Helsinki, to be near her childhood sweetheart Lauri. Now a grown man himself he has also become involved in the fight for freedom against the Russians.
An opportunity for me to learn about somewhere I knew nothing about historically it is an absorbing account of life in Finland in the early 1900s. I preferred the earlier part of the book which is centred on Eeva’s childhood growing up in the Finnish countryside and must admit to finding myself less interested in the account of the political turmoil once the story transferred to Helsinki.
A compassionate story of love and loneliness set against an interesting background.
Although this book is titled 'House of Orphans', we actually meet very few orphans, in fact only Eeva, female protagonist of the story, and Anna Lusa, who runs the orphanage. The orphanage is just used to set the scene for the story of Eeva because it is to the orphanage that she is sent when her father, a revolutionary and her only family dies.
When she is older the orphanage places her in service with a widowed doctor who finds himself falling in love with her. So he is somewhat relieved when she decides to return to live in her home town of Helsinki, to be near her childhood sweetheart Lauri. Now a grown man himself he has also become involved in the fight for freedom against the Russians.
An opportunity for me to learn about somewhere I knew nothing about historically it is an absorbing account of life in Finland in the early 1900s. I preferred the earlier part of the book which is centred on Eeva’s childhood growing up in the Finnish countryside and must admit to finding myself less interested in the account of the political turmoil once the story transferred to Helsinki.
A compassionate story of love and loneliness set against an interesting background.
December 19, 2012
A lot of the reviews of House of Orphans complain about the sudden switch in style as the book moves from the countryside to the city. I guess maybe what Helen Dunmore was attempting here was to show how the move from rural to urban living also signalled a change in strorytelling style: from whatever went before (lyrical realism?) to modernism, and I imagine she was trying to reflect that in the way she wrote this. Hence the long detailed chunks of narration that deal with Eevi and the Doctor in the countryside, and the more jumpy, at times discordant, style of narration once we are in the city.
I slightly agree that not enough happens here, towards the end, that the novel somehow feels unfinished. But this could be intentional. To me this book is as much about what forced people in countries across Europe to make new beginnings out of their various feudal pasts, as it is about a particular time and place (Finland in the very early 1900s). And yet I like this book, and feel it is better to try something original and only partly succeed than to always stick with the programme and make a watertight literary product.
I slightly agree that not enough happens here, towards the end, that the novel somehow feels unfinished. But this could be intentional. To me this book is as much about what forced people in countries across Europe to make new beginnings out of their various feudal pasts, as it is about a particular time and place (Finland in the very early 1900s). And yet I like this book, and feel it is better to try something original and only partly succeed than to always stick with the programme and make a watertight literary product.
May 5, 2012
This book by a highly recognized author was a disappointment. The concept and the setting of the story were fascinating but the story faltered between what could have been a strong historical narrative and a touching personal story. The title also the missed the mark. It may have been intended to be ideological but I don't think we are given enough to make that connection.
The book is fairly brief -- just over 300 pages. So much of that writing is oddly descriptive of the vivid details of illness, sex, and childbirth. Was this to establish the proper setting? In good solid fiction, I don't find that level of detail necessary to be captured by a story. After a bit of that much description, I just want to say, "Uh, thanks, I'm familiar. Even in the modern world, we have some of that." Most of this writing didn't strongly relate to the main line of the story anyway?
The book is fairly brief -- just over 300 pages. So much of that writing is oddly descriptive of the vivid details of illness, sex, and childbirth. Was this to establish the proper setting? In good solid fiction, I don't find that level of detail necessary to be captured by a story. After a bit of that much description, I just want to say, "Uh, thanks, I'm familiar. Even in the modern world, we have some of that." Most of this writing didn't strongly relate to the main line of the story anyway?
August 6, 2011
The first part of this book hums along at the steady, reassuring pace of a knitting Grandma with enough interest to keep the plot bubbling. About halfway, things change and though the reader suspects this earlier phase will have some bearing on the ultimate destiny of the plot, I did find my interest starting to wane from then on.
Intelligently written, like all her books, this taught me a great deal about Finnish history but left me with the nagging sensation of not having fully understood what the author was trying to convey. For example there is a theme of multiple lives lived by a single person, which is returned to again and again so it's clearly important but I didn't really 'get' it. One for higher beings than me, I think!
Intelligently written, like all her books, this taught me a great deal about Finnish history but left me with the nagging sensation of not having fully understood what the author was trying to convey. For example there is a theme of multiple lives lived by a single person, which is returned to again and again so it's clearly important but I didn't really 'get' it. One for higher beings than me, I think!
March 10, 2016
The orphanage of the title is in Finland in the early twentieth century, when Finland was part of Russia. It is the starting point of the story, but also symbolic of the country at that time. Tsarist policies attract opposition from both revolutionaries and patriots.
The main characters are a doctor, an orphan girl who goes to work for him for a while and the young man she loves. Doctor Thomas is a good man who tries to help the disadvantaged people around him, but he is also stuck in his middle-class, middle-aged, country life. The younger two, Eeva and Laurie, are the children of revolutionaries and they and their other young friends have to decide how far they would go to change the world.
The main characters are a doctor, an orphan girl who goes to work for him for a while and the young man she loves. Doctor Thomas is a good man who tries to help the disadvantaged people around him, but he is also stuck in his middle-class, middle-aged, country life. The younger two, Eeva and Laurie, are the children of revolutionaries and they and their other young friends have to decide how far they would go to change the world.
October 29, 2018
As usual with Helen Dunmore, this is a beautifully written book. The story is that Eeva, daughter of a failed Finnish revolutionary when Russia tried to subjugate Finland, is sent to an orphanage in the country. She then is sent to be a servant to the local doctor, Thomas, who falls in love with her. However, she loves Lauri, her childhood friend. To say anymore would involve spoilers. I was not mad about the story, but the writing is superb, with the most beautifully crafted descriptions of the Finnish countryside.
July 9, 2012
i really enjoyed both The Siege (during the 900 days that Lenningrad was held hostage by the German army during w.w.2) and The Betrayal (set during the terror of Stalin's reign). unfortunately this one didn't hold up as well. i didn't check the date of publication, but House of Orphans definitely feels like an earlier work. the story was entertaining enough but it just didn't have the edge that the other two did.
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June 10, 2012Strangely kept slipping away from me even tho' tight, accomplished writing. Vivid evocation of place [Finland] & period. Found country descriptive material more plausible than city. Eluded me in some way, didn't get under my skin. And she is a favourite writer of mine...
December 16, 2012
Okay book but not an overwhelming read. Interesting topic but falls short of others she has written. Wanted more from all the characters and better interweaving of the political history into the story instead of just on the edge.
August 4, 2023
I'm trying to think of something good to say about this book and nothing comes to mind. It is just terrible throughout.
First, the writing is very odd, almost as if it's a very unsuccessful translation or written by someone who is not a native English speaker.
Secondly, the blurb promises a story about the russification of Finland in 1902, which is not what it actually is. Instead, more than 50% of the book is a completely unrelated story about a 47-year-old doctor who is horny for a 16-year-old girl who he hires as his servant. The other portion is just unrelated chapters where nothing of importance happens. The author tried to create some political subplot (which should have been the FOCUS of the story), but it was basically incoherent rambling that went nowhere.
It's quite literally a book about nothing. She doesn't even provide any historical context to guide the reader and I suspect it's because she didn't know it either. The entire story feels like a wasted opportunity because no research was done to give it any substance.
The poor excuse for a story we do get in this book is underdeveloped, aimless, disconnected and jumpy. Take the doctor, for example. He sees Eeva once, hires him as his servant, ogles him a few times and suddenly he's presented as tormented by love. What love? There is nothing in the story to make the reader feel that it's anything other than a sudden onset of perverted horniness for a girl who could be his child.
Thirdly, the characters were all flat and had a one-track mind. All they did was live in their head and their inner monologue was identical. Even their own thoughts didn't develop from chapter to chapter.
And lastly, why is this titled House of Orphans? The orphanage was a minor part of the story and nothing was done with it. It served as filler for the doctor's parts, maybe to make him more likable so we'd forget he's an absolute pervert.
First, the writing is very odd, almost as if it's a very unsuccessful translation or written by someone who is not a native English speaker.
Secondly, the blurb promises a story about the russification of Finland in 1902, which is not what it actually is. Instead, more than 50% of the book is a completely unrelated story about a 47-year-old doctor who is horny for a 16-year-old girl who he hires as his servant. The other portion is just unrelated chapters where nothing of importance happens. The author tried to create some political subplot (which should have been the FOCUS of the story), but it was basically incoherent rambling that went nowhere.
It's quite literally a book about nothing. She doesn't even provide any historical context to guide the reader and I suspect it's because she didn't know it either. The entire story feels like a wasted opportunity because no research was done to give it any substance.
The poor excuse for a story we do get in this book is underdeveloped, aimless, disconnected and jumpy. Take the doctor, for example. He sees Eeva once, hires him as his servant, ogles him a few times and suddenly he's presented as tormented by love. What love? There is nothing in the story to make the reader feel that it's anything other than a sudden onset of perverted horniness for a girl who could be his child.
Thirdly, the characters were all flat and had a one-track mind. All they did was live in their head and their inner monologue was identical. Even their own thoughts didn't develop from chapter to chapter.
And lastly, why is this titled House of Orphans? The orphanage was a minor part of the story and nothing was done with it. It served as filler for the doctor's parts, maybe to make him more likable so we'd forget he's an absolute pervert.
June 2, 2022
This is the perfect book for a cold, winter's night when the fire is low and the sun barely seems to rise. I read it in the height of summer but I still gave it five stars because it transported me there! Helen Dunmore is such a great historical writer, she writes so evocatively and creates such brilliant characters that we see the links between our lives and theirs, even when they seem worlds apart. House of Orphans is actually a very relevant book as it's set in Finland at the turn of the twentieth century when the Russian Empire was brutally trying to take control and force the Finns into submission. We follow the story of Eeva, the orphan daughter of a revolutionary who is sent away from Helsinki to the countryside, first to an orphanage, and then to work for the local doctor who falls secretly in love with her. But Eeva, desiring independence and searching for her identity, goes back to Helsinki and her childhood friend, Lauri, where revolution is still very much part of their lives.
I'm trying to decide what makes Helen Dunmore such a great novelist. It's partly the characters who are all so well drawn and compelling - even the minor characters are carefully observed and have their own stories. There isn't a lot of plot in this novel, but that gives Dunmore time, a bit like Penelope Fitzgerald, to explore every day life - a mother giving birth, a servant cleaning crockery, a child hiding in fear under the bedclothes listening to an adult conversation they don't quite understand, a sauna followed by jump into a cold river - okay that last one is definitely Finnish everyday life! Helen Dunmore has written several brilliant novels and House of Orphans, along with Zennor in Darkness and The Siege, is one of my favourites.
I'm trying to decide what makes Helen Dunmore such a great novelist. It's partly the characters who are all so well drawn and compelling - even the minor characters are carefully observed and have their own stories. There isn't a lot of plot in this novel, but that gives Dunmore time, a bit like Penelope Fitzgerald, to explore every day life - a mother giving birth, a servant cleaning crockery, a child hiding in fear under the bedclothes listening to an adult conversation they don't quite understand, a sauna followed by jump into a cold river - okay that last one is definitely Finnish everyday life! Helen Dunmore has written several brilliant novels and House of Orphans, along with Zennor in Darkness and The Siege, is one of my favourites.
May 17, 2018
Review: House of Orphans by Helen Dunmore. 3.5 Stars 05/15/2018
I felt it was beautifully written and Dunmore’s intents to show two sides to the story.
I will admit I wasn’t sure what I was reading at first but it gradually came together for me. Eeva’s life was sad and I don’t believe she ever found happiness.
I preferred the childhood of Eeva and the time she spent in the country with Doctor Thomas. Eeva had no family left in the city of Helsinki and the authorities grab her as soon as her revolutionist father died and placed her in an orphanage at a young age
Not much later she was chosen to live and work for the doctor who lived in the country. That seemed to be a safer place for her than the abuse she received at the orphanage until the doctor started having feelings for her. He was an elderly man and she was still a child. While she lived there he never did anything to harm the Eeva but his love was being noticed by a friend of his. The doctor did all he could to get Eeva to stay and work for him but she wanted to go back to her childhood sweetheart who is now a grown man and he was involved in the fight for freedom against the Russians.
When Eeva left the country to go back to the city life to be with Lauri where she felt she would find happiness. That changed the story in a different direction becoming very political and disturbing. Towards the end of the book Eeva sends for Tomas the doctor and at this time he declares his love for her but she rejected him and he returned to his village. Helen Dunmore goes on describing what happened to the other male characters but I felt it was rushed and not really explained fully how it ended for the characters.
I felt it was beautifully written and Dunmore’s intents to show two sides to the story.
I will admit I wasn’t sure what I was reading at first but it gradually came together for me. Eeva’s life was sad and I don’t believe she ever found happiness.
I preferred the childhood of Eeva and the time she spent in the country with Doctor Thomas. Eeva had no family left in the city of Helsinki and the authorities grab her as soon as her revolutionist father died and placed her in an orphanage at a young age
Not much later she was chosen to live and work for the doctor who lived in the country. That seemed to be a safer place for her than the abuse she received at the orphanage until the doctor started having feelings for her. He was an elderly man and she was still a child. While she lived there he never did anything to harm the Eeva but his love was being noticed by a friend of his. The doctor did all he could to get Eeva to stay and work for him but she wanted to go back to her childhood sweetheart who is now a grown man and he was involved in the fight for freedom against the Russians.
When Eeva left the country to go back to the city life to be with Lauri where she felt she would find happiness. That changed the story in a different direction becoming very political and disturbing. Towards the end of the book Eeva sends for Tomas the doctor and at this time he declares his love for her but she rejected him and he returned to his village. Helen Dunmore goes on describing what happened to the other male characters but I felt it was rushed and not really explained fully how it ended for the characters.
April 19, 2020
I would have given this five stars but for chapter 32. It felt in the end the author had grown fed up with the book and wanted to end it quickly, cutting from character to character, except Eeva, with their denouement. It wasn't what I was expecting, and felt lacking.
What I did like though was the history of the time, early 1900s Finland, and the social history of Eeva's position. Orphanages of the time were similarly run all over the world, with orphans turned into various forms of slaves before being 'sold to their various new masters for a life of servitude. Women of course faring particularly badly.
But Eeva's character is more fortunate as she is educated and beautiful, so being 'taken in' by Doctor Eklund proves useful when her lover, Lauri, is arrested by the Okhana, the Tsar's secret police.
We discover that Sasha is a Tsarist agent and it seems unbelievable that Lauri didn't realise, although by the time he was having doubts, he was in too deeply. What puzzles me though is Sasha's ending...why end in suicide? And then the suggestion that he was a double agent. Surely if he had've been exposed as a double agent, someone would have killed him. He is shown as being without conscience throughout the story, to find a conscience at the end.
All in all, despite the niggles, I enjoyed reading this and would recommend it if you are interested in history and social history.
What I did like though was the history of the time, early 1900s Finland, and the social history of Eeva's position. Orphanages of the time were similarly run all over the world, with orphans turned into various forms of slaves before being 'sold to their various new masters for a life of servitude. Women of course faring particularly badly.
But Eeva's character is more fortunate as she is educated and beautiful, so being 'taken in' by Doctor Eklund proves useful when her lover, Lauri, is arrested by the Okhana, the Tsar's secret police.
We discover that Sasha is a Tsarist agent and it seems unbelievable that Lauri didn't realise, although by the time he was having doubts, he was in too deeply. What puzzles me though is Sasha's ending...why end in suicide? And then the suggestion that he was a double agent. Surely if he had've been exposed as a double agent, someone would have killed him. He is shown as being without conscience throughout the story, to find a conscience at the end.
All in all, despite the niggles, I enjoyed reading this and would recommend it if you are interested in history and social history.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 15, 2018
It's OK for a book I borrowed, but I'm glad I didn't buy it. I found it easy to read, if a little over descriptive at times. I preferred the city setting in the second half and found the politics and history of Finland more interesting than an aging doctors obsession with pubescent young women. I agree with other reviewers that the title of the book is misleading or an odd choice for the story.
I would have enjoyed more storyline about what happened to Lauri, and how Sasha was involved. I was interested in the link between Eeva's childhood witnessing secret political meetings and how that helped her piece together the events surrounding Lauri.
What I did like about this novel was Eeva's strength of character and how she stands up to people in an assertive manner, that is people who are older than her, or who appear more confident. She can stand up for herself and I think this is why I liked her more independent lifestyle in the city.
It's also a novel about possession of one person by another. I found it interesting how Magda 'gives back' Lauri to Eeva, the exploration of Sasha's possessive relationship with Lauri, the doctor and Eeva...
Having read reviews I might try The Seige by the same author, but after reading this I won't be rushing out to read more by Helen Dunmore. I found it mediocre.
I would have enjoyed more storyline about what happened to Lauri, and how Sasha was involved. I was interested in the link between Eeva's childhood witnessing secret political meetings and how that helped her piece together the events surrounding Lauri.
What I did like about this novel was Eeva's strength of character and how she stands up to people in an assertive manner, that is people who are older than her, or who appear more confident. She can stand up for herself and I think this is why I liked her more independent lifestyle in the city.
It's also a novel about possession of one person by another. I found it interesting how Magda 'gives back' Lauri to Eeva, the exploration of Sasha's possessive relationship with Lauri, the doctor and Eeva...
Having read reviews I might try The Seige by the same author, but after reading this I won't be rushing out to read more by Helen Dunmore. I found it mediocre.
May 25, 2018
This must be the last Helen Dunmore novel for adults which I hadn't read and to be honest it was a bit of a disappointment. That's not to say that it's not an enjoyable read - it is, but it's not as good as The Siege or A Spell of Winter (which is my all time favourite of her's). The story follows Evie, an orphan in The House of Orphans, after her political agitator father dies. It is set in Finland during the early part of the twentieth century and covers the time when Russia was annexing Finland to the Soviet Union, and attempting to get rid of everything Finnish. It's an interesting tale about what it must be like to lose your national identity because some other country has told you to (although for this, Theresa Hak Cha's Dictee is a great book to read and perhaps more raw in the telling because she uses poetry to do so). In the end, the problem I had with this was it was a bit samey - i.e. it was exactly the same as every other Dunmore book out there and didn't really do anything new. I'd just read it all before (in one scene, I really thought I'd actually read the scene before and I wonder if Dunmore had used the same thing in another of her books).
In short, not one of my favourites - but Helen Dunmore is always worth reading so it's still worth a look.
In short, not one of my favourites - but Helen Dunmore is always worth reading so it's still worth a look.
February 11, 2019
Okay so this book took me a very very long time to read. I have no clue what the dates are so below is just a guestimation. All I know is that when I started the book I could feel it tugging at my chest, pulling me towards it at all times. The way YA sci fi novels used to in the past, that tugging, making you carry the book around with you at all times even though you know you may not get to read it. But you have to have it around just incase. It was a delight to feel the tug, it doesn't always happen with books nowadays.
Anywho the book is highly original, the characters a tiny bit stereotyped but fascinating. The writing though, that writing, is what produced the tug. It was clear, poetic, and striking, and is what kept me reading. That kind of writing can overcome all kinds of writing fallacies.
Anywho the book is highly original, the characters a tiny bit stereotyped but fascinating. The writing though, that writing, is what produced the tug. It was clear, poetic, and striking, and is what kept me reading. That kind of writing can overcome all kinds of writing fallacies.
November 24, 2017
I enjoyed this novel as well. The beginning of the 1900's is such an interesting era in Finland's history, and Dunmore seemed to capture it well. The only thing I found strange was the way the Finnish people used each other's names while discussing ("You've never been to Helsinki, have you, Matti?") That's a bit un-Finnish. My favourite character was the doctor Thomas, Eeva remained a mystery to me.
The book was very easy to read, and I liked Dunmore's writing style. She is suberb in creating athmosphere and describing moods and surroundings, including the spring weather. Now that I think about it, actually very little happened in the book. The main thing was not action and movement, but moments and details. Very interesting reading experience.
The book was very easy to read, and I liked Dunmore's writing style. She is suberb in creating athmosphere and describing moods and surroundings, including the spring weather. Now that I think about it, actually very little happened in the book. The main thing was not action and movement, but moments and details. Very interesting reading experience.
November 13, 2024
I enjoyed learning about Finland’s history through this book. However, I felt that the ending was rushed. There were many parts of this book left unanswered and characters introduced then forgotten about. It took me until 3/4 of the book to get into it (as you can tell from how long it took me to read it), then it suddenly ended with complete randomness?
What happened with Lauri and Eeva? Why did Sasha behave in the way he did? What was his back story/significance? What was the point of the Doctor falling in love with Eeva? It felt like a needless addition to the book that distracted from the key theme.
This book left me feeling entirely confused. There were so many interesting ideas that were left undeveloped. Overall, I feel frustrated by this book.
What happened with Lauri and Eeva? Why did Sasha behave in the way he did? What was his back story/significance? What was the point of the Doctor falling in love with Eeva? It felt like a needless addition to the book that distracted from the key theme.
This book left me feeling entirely confused. There were so many interesting ideas that were left undeveloped. Overall, I feel frustrated by this book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 25, 2022
A book of two halves - The first part set mostly in the Finnish countryside is a well written and I found it engaging with well drawn characters with interesting backgrounds and believable emotions. They were drawn as flawed individuals and not stereotypes. A five star book at this point.
Unfortunately, the characters lost individuality once they were placed into Helsinki in the second part. New and potentially interesting characters were added but didn’t really develop. Then, various events happened after the arrest of one character which I do not think were sufficiently explained to the reader, certainly I didnt really understand what was happening. I will ask a discussion on this.
Unfortunately, the characters lost individuality once they were placed into Helsinki in the second part. New and potentially interesting characters were added but didn’t really develop. Then, various events happened after the arrest of one character which I do not think were sufficiently explained to the reader, certainly I didnt really understand what was happening. I will ask a discussion on this.
May 5, 2017
I was delighted to come across another Helen Dunmore novel that I hadn't yet read as she is one of my favourite authors. This tragic story, set in Finland in 1902, shows how many different types of love there is and how love can be selfless as well as selfish. Eeva is vulnerable, yet determined and negotiates a difficult path, at a time when Finnish people where fighting for their lives. The trouble with great books like this is that you can't stop reading, but then it comes to an end all too soon.
June 14, 2020
Helen Dunmore, as many know, is / was a wonderful fiction writer and poet. This is a fascinating read. There is not a dominant figure in the book as the focus moves between a number of characters. Set at the cusp of the 19th and 20th centuries in a Finland experiencing Russification at the hands of its much more powerful neighbour. The novel provides insight into the various stratas of the then Finnish society. Each of the main characters provides a specific dimension. The book builds towards a climatic end and the mystery keeps you reading. I wholeheartedly recommend this book as I do so many of her novels.
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