Lasnamäe lunastaja

by Mari Saat

Romaani "Lasnamäe lunastaja“ teema on valus ja tänapäevane – peategelaseks on Lasnamäel elav venelanna Natalja Filipovna, kes peab üksinda seisma kooliskäiva tütre heaolu eest ja võitlema oma eluvõitlust. Tema rahulikku ja kindlustatud elu vapustab koondamine heast töökohast tehases. Romaan jutustab Natalja Filipovna katsetest tekkinud olukorras hakkama saada ja oma tütart koolitada. “Lasnamäe lunastaja” on kirjutatud autorile omasel meisterlikul moel ning selles avaldub tema sügav inimesetundmine ja psühholoogiline täpsus.

Genres: Fiction

149 pages

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Born in Tallinn in 1947, Mari Saat is an Estonian economist and writer who has published four novels and a number of short story collections, children's books and non-fiction works,

She has received many awards since the publication of her first collection of short stories, Katastroof, in 1973, including the Estonian Cultural Endowment's Prose Award in 1992, 1999 and 2008, the latter for The Saviour of Lasnamäe.

Reviews

[Serena · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did like this, and I learnt a lot and I thought it had the perfect set-up for a good, dry-humoured, brutally honest in a necessary way story about a mother and daughter who try to do their best for each other on their own in the modern world. The passage where Sofia explains all the reasons why she couldn't be president (she's female, she has no father in her life, her mother is an unskilled worker, she's Russian) is a great microcosm of the book, and this I think is brilliant. I'm still reeling a bit from the ending - I'm not quite sure why it had to be so awfully depressing and pessimistic, and it was really abrupt so I feel pretty disturbed having just been lumped with it. It's a shame, because had it either been less horrible or less abrupt, it might have settled in a more nuanced way but at the moment I just feel like the rug has been pulled from beneath my feet a bit and I'm struggling to stand back up.

That said, I would recommend it (especially the first half) and I hope it gets more of an audience. The tone of the translation is very easy to read, and to enjoy. I'd actually be intrigued to know who the intended audience is, given it seems to be talking about Estonians as if the reader doesn't know anything about Estonians - it's right, I don't, but the translated version doesn't seem to be its intention (or is it?). Also, if I've got the luxury of asking the translator or anyone who knows, would love to know why the author always uses Natalya Filippovna's full name?

One the things that struck me while reading was a complex and well-portrayed picture of nostalgia for the Soviet Union; from Natalya the "unskilled" single mother herself to Rael's grandma to the pointed contrast with Rael just wanting to put on her headphones and stay in her own world. I thought this was done really well. I think a few of the more supernatural allegories might have been lost on me - I didn't quite grasp the rat, the priest or the eye but that didn't get in the way of my enjoying the book, I think it's my own shortcoming rather than the novel's!

[Liina Palu · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mida põrgut ma just lugesin!? Selle raamatu sisu ei vastanud absoluutselt sellele "sisukokkuvõttele". Mis sügav inimesetundmine? Mis psühholoogiline täpsus? See teos on kirjutatud nagu mingi lasteraamat. Meenutas kohutavalt Rannamaa "Kadri" kirjaviisi ja stiili. Sobiks vabalt varateismelistele lugemiseks. Nii ema kui ka tütar olid mõlemad sellise naiivse, saamatu ja vaese inimese mõtlemisega.

[Helena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mielenkiintoinen uusi kirjailijatuttavuus ja maanläheinen tarina, jonka päähenkilöissä, äidissä ja tyttäressä, on paljon vahvuutta ja toivoa. Olen ollut vähän ennakkoluuloinen virolaista kirjallisuutta kohtaan, mutta tämän innostamana voisin perehtyä siihen enemmänkin.

[Ely · Rating 3 out of 5]

I still don’t know how I feel about this book—it was just a bit of a strange one. The story is kind of odd and confusing, but there was also something strangely compelling about it. I don’t think I understood anything that happened in this book or the point of any of it. I also didn’t really care about any of the characters—I can’t even remember any of their names. And yet, there was something about this that just kept me reading and I couldn’t put it down until I finished it. I really had little hopes or expectations for this, but I have to say that I was impressed by Saat’s writing and I’d be interested in seeing if I could get my hands on something else by here, maybe for next year’s round.

[Epp Petrone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mulle väga meeldis see lühiromaan. Meeldis autori empaatia, tõeline sisseminek lihtsa Lasnamäe venelanna maailma. Ja ma tõesti ei teadnud süžeed, nii et hakkasin autori käekõrval kõndima täiesti pimesi, polnud ka mitte mingisuguseid žanrisiseseid seadusi, eeldusi, et mis edasi juhtuma võiks hakata. See, mis edasi juhtus, oli kohati banaalne ja samas... kuidagi kummaliselt lummav ja seda just tänu autori keelele. Lihtne, selge, valus. 90ndate toores julm aeg, tütre hambaklambrid ja ema koondamine...
See lugu jäi mind nädalateks kummitama. Millise võluva suvalisusega kõik oli visandatud ja kuidas see kõik siis niisama lõppeski. Kes siis oli Lasnamäe lunastaja? Ja mis kahest peategelannast edasi võiks saada? Edasi mõelgu lugeja ise.

[Kristina · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story of women that are left with really hard choices in life. Too depressing and brutal. It would have helped to maybe show some light and fun side of things the mother and daughter had. But instead it just shows all the dark, dirty, depressing details. And I don't understand why it was called The Saviour of Lasnamäe. Was it daughter? Mother? Jaakko? Dmitri Dmitrievich? As a person who grew up in Lasnamäe herself, I expected some darkness and bleakness, but I didn't expect it to be so heavy.

[Pia Vilmi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tiivis romaani vironvenäläisestä Nataljasta, joka joutuu tukalaan tilanteeseen jäädessään työttömäksi. Natalja ja tämän tytär Sofia etsivät molemmat mitä tahansa työtä ja päätyvät tavanomaisesta poikkeaviin ratkaisuihin, koska ilman rahaa ei millään pärjää. Tarina pitää otteessaan ja vie lukijaa arkisiin mutta yllättäviin käänteisiin. Lukija toivoo, että hyvä saisi palkkansa mutta saako se?

[Merja · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kirjasta todella huokui Lasnamäen ankeus ja toisaalta venäläisyys. Tämä meni Helmet2018-haasteen kohtaan 4: Kirjan nimessä on jokin paikka.

[Kaisa]

H21 11, 37

[Sanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Alku hyvä, lopussa lässähti.

[moosisai · Rating 3 out of 5]

mehhhh

väga lihtsakoeline raamat, määd naiivitarid ema ja tytar... ja see suht kõik kah

[Eero Jakobson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Omapärane lugemine

[Gea · Rating 2 out of 5]

Alles poole raamatu peal tundsin ära, et olin varem lugenud. Kardetavasti mõne kuu pärast taas ei mäleta.

[Kristen (she_who_reads_the_world) · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Saviour of Lasnamäe was my Estonian pick for the #readingtheworld challenge, and geez was it a heavy read. Only a short read of 128 pages, it tells the story of Natalya and her daughter Sofia, and their struggle to make ends meet.

If you aren't ready for a depressing read with lots of trigger warnings, this book isn't for you. There is a huge amount of dark imagery - there is mention of the mass culling of diseased animals, cannibalism, disembowelled priests and beating children. Some of the heavier themes revolve around sin, prostitution, extreme domestic violence, miscarriage, starvation, forced drug use, and suicidal thoughts. Some scenes made me more than a little uncomfortable, but I needed to keep reading to finally make sense of it all. 

I'm not too sure if I enjoyed this book or not? It was an overall okay read. It did make me feel some pretty intense emotions, so I would definitely say it was well written. I did learn some things about Estonia that I didn't know before, so I am glad I read it. Definitely give it a read if you don’t mind very dark and depressing themes.

[J Thayre · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another brilliant 150 page novella. This time set in Lasnamäe, Estonia. This came recommended to me from Helen, of the Translating Women project. It tells the story of Natalia, a single mother and her daughter, Sofia. Natalia is originally from Crimea and has struggled to settle in to life in Estonia. Her perfect daughter, Sofia, needs braces but they come at a cost. A beautifully written novella, with twists and turns along the way. This is the first Estonian novel I’ve ever read.

Read more of this review here: https://aroundtheworldonefemalenoveli...

[Martta Lipponen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tämän kirjan luin erästä kurssia varten.

Lasnamäen lunastaja on kirja rahasta, tai oikeammin siitä, millaisiin tekoihin, ajatuksiin ja elämään rahan puute ihmiset johtaa. Natalja Filippovna on vironvenäläinen yksinhuoltajaäiti, joka menettää työnsä huonoimmalla mahdollisella hetkellä. Rahanpuute johtaa sekä äidin että tyttären tutustumaan maailmoihin ja ihmisiin, jotka muuttavat heidän elämänsä, kukin tavallaan.

[Outi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting depiction of estonian life through a mother and daughter in financial trouble. The novel was short, only 140 pages so there really wasn't much time to get to know the characters. As a small sympathetic story, it worked well.

[Arja-täti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pysäyttävä kirja, joka meidän kaikkien olisi hyvä lukea. Toisaalta niin totta ja julmaa ja kuitenkin niin kaunista. Tämä jää mieleen pitkään.

[Anne-mari Järve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kerge lugemine.