The end.
We have finally reached the end of both long books that we read for this class. There was a noticeable difference in how I felt upon completion of each of these novels. I found the ending of The Savage Detectivesto be underwhelming (see previous blog post), while I found the ending of Les guerriers de l’hiver to be depressing.
Simo Häyhä gets shot in the mouth with the explosive ammunition that the Soviet military was using, which leads to part of his cheek and jaw being blown off. As a result, he has to undergo twenty-six operations over a fourteen-month period. But he survives. He lost some of his friends during battle. And his family’s farm happens to be located in a part of Finland that was annexed by the Soviet Union at the end of the war, as part of the peace deal that commander-in-chief Mannerheim signed. At one point during the war, Simo wished that a bullet would hit him that would put an end to the misery that he has been experiencing during this violent conflict. He didn’t even want to live anymore. Yet at the end, he did survive.
One of the most interesting parts at the end of the book was an italicized section of a chapter which was a summary of the report by the doctor that operated on his face. Norek did a lot of research for the writing of this novel, which included reading many primary sources about the war, including a copy of the report by this doctor. The bullet going through Simo’s cheek was described by Norek in such horrific detail, while the report that followed was intriguing and left readers with hope for the sniper who shot and killed 542 Soviet soldiers during the 98-day war. When I researched information about Simo online, I found out that he lived to the age of 96. He is considered a hero in Finland. Finnish children learn about him in History class. Meanwhile, in the Soviet Union, there was no mention of the Winter War in official history books. Therefore, Soviet school children were never taught about this violent part of their history, mostly due to the shame of not having succeeded in annexing all of Finland, which was the original intent of the Soviet Union. On top of that, the USSR only reported the death of 350 of their own soldiers, when in reality, there were close to 400,000 casualties as a result of this conflict. They were also in violation of the Saint-Petersburg Declaration, which prohibited the use of explosive ammunition, such as the bullet that hit Simo in the mouth and blew off part of his face. And even once the peace deal was signed and the war was set to end a day later, the Soviet military were still ordered to attack and kill as many Finnish soldiers as they could.
The ending left me feeling depressed about human nature and the state of the world. Why do we kill each other for money, fame, territory or power? What is wrong with humanity?
I don’t have other words to share about how I felt about the ending, as I just finished reading the novel about two hours ago and I feel a strong sense of hopelessness about the state of the world.
I am losing hope.
Questions for the class: Which of the two novels that you read for this class did you prefer reading? In your opinion, did one have a more impactful ending than the other?
Bonus question: What is wrong with humanity?
What is wrong with humanity? Excellent question. I'm not so sure but I know there is so much intrinsic good that follows in the paths of many, unconsciously and consciously. There is also harm and when it comes to war and the conquest for power, much is lost but there is so much silent good and unseen/unspoken heroes whom are really trying and effectively doing so much good in the midst of being present to tragedy and suffering. It's an incredible thing how often we choose good even in the throes of humanity's worst displays. I'm sorry this book left you with a feeling of hopelessness, it seems to have struck much more of a chord than Bolaño's Savage Detectives. I haven't fully reached the end to my book-- but so far, considering how much my heart was racing reading the Savage Detectives which hasn't happened to me while reading a book in a veryyyyyyyyyyyy long time--if ever. I have a feeling The Savage Detectives takes the cake. Thank you for describing this book and what's happened in it so viscerally Carlina.
Hi Carlina! I think I mentioned to you last week that I preferred reading 2666, and after having finished it, that still holds true (in fact I might even prefer 2666 even more)! Although I would say both had impactful endings on me, not sure if one was more impactful than the other since they differ quite a bit. You mention that the ending to Les guerriers de l’hiver made you feel depressed about human nature and the state of the world, a similar feeling I had after reading the end of Part IV of 2666 - The Part About The Crimes, seeming like a never ending cycle of femicides for no apparent reason at all! Indeed, what is wrong with humanity? I think this question might be above my pay grade, but if I had to answer... I'd say something along the lines of we're all imperfect, sinful creatures, and then when you pair that with the world's social structures, injustices, and what not, you get a recipe for disaster, where humans are capable of doing really terrible things. But don't get me wrong, there's also a lot of good in the world as well! And we're all able to do good too.