The Devil's Violin: Myllysilta's History

So my newest novel has hit the shelves, both literal and virtual. THE DEVIL'S VIOLIN: MYLLYSILTA'S HISTORY is available in Thunder Bay at Entershine Bookshop on Bay Street. It's also available on Amazon, here.

This book grew out of my first published novel, SILENCES: A NOVEL OF THE 1918 FINNISH CIVIL WAR. Although it happens in the same world (what my wife calls "the Jussiverse") of SILENCES, it's not necessary to have read SILENCES before cracking open THE DEVIL'S VIOLIN.

While researching SILENCES, I spent a lot of time looking at photos of war and its consequences--definitely the stuff of nightmares. Although SILENCES focuses on Jussi Mantere, I knew his response to the war's violence and futility wasn't the only response possible. 

And so I began to wonder what motivated Antti Myllysilta, known in Port Arthur in 1955 as Andrew Millbridge. He and Jussi had "met" late in 1917, just as the Finnish Civil War was brewing. Their life paths continued to intersect. 

But Myllysilta was different, with different initial experiences that set him on a different path. Once there, he continued to make choices that let him have many successes as well as failures. 

Although Myllysilta/Millbridge was sometimes a challenge to be fond of, several of his friends and relatives were enjoyable to write and revise--in general, to spend time with.  

Naturally, now that it's published I still see a few flaws, some of which we'll correct for future printings. Alas, imperfections are inevitable, no matter how many proofs we dissect and read carefully.  

All in all, I'm happy it's out and on the shelves. I can't wait to hear what readers think of it. And now I can start bugging my wife (and publisher and editor) about the next book. 

Signing this Saturday at the Thunder Bay Chapters!

This Saturday, August 18! From noon until 4!

I'll be at Chapters in Thunder Bay to sign copies of SILENCES: A NOVEL OF THE 1918 FINNISH CIVIL WAR and otherwise represent my publisher, Shuniah House Books.

Many other writers from the region will also be there--why not come see what's happening in the Northwestern Ontario literary world? (Psst: it's air-conditioned in there!)

The most up-to-date list of other participating authors: Sandi Boucher, Sam Convey, H. Leighton Dickson, Roma Fisher, Makenzi Fisk, Deanna Ford, Eva Kakepetum, Rob Kozak, Michelle Krys, Kyle Lees, Terrence McParland, Merk, John Pringle, Shannon Robertson, Evan Sills, and the Friends of the (Thunder Bay) Library.

Hope to see you there!

Toivo Waske's CROSSING BORDERS

I recently had an email from Lea (Waske) Springer, letting me know about CROSSING BORDERS, her father's memoir.

Subtitled "From Refugee to Freedom Fighter," the memoir is available from Amazon.ca at this link. Toivo Waske began writing his memoirs in the 1980s. He was born in 1918 in Finland, where his family had fled from Russia to avoid the Revolution. In 1924, his family returned to Russia. In later years, he lived in Finland and Sweden before emigrating to Canada.

The book includes an account of Toivo's involvement in the Winter War and Continuation War. Described as "the ordinary patrol member's view," the memoir provides a fascinating account of everyday events during wartime.

I appreciate reading this first-hand account of turbulent times--which could describe all of  Europe in the 20th century. Kudos to the family for making this memoir available!

An Opera about the Finnish Civil War!

Thanks to Dr. Raija Warkentin, author and professor emeritus of Anthropology at Lakehead University, I learned about the premiere of an opera about the Finnish Civil War this coming Friday, in Finland.

Entitled VELJENI VARTIJA, which translates as "My Brother's Keeper," the opera is about a brother and sister who end up on opposite sides of the war. The title, of course, refers to the story of Cain and Able in Genesis.

There's a little more about the opera, composer, and librettist at the Shuniah House Books website.  The website of the concert hall, Tampere-Talo, has even more.

Stories, whether in books or operas or any other art form, are helpful for talking about difficult subjects--and this is a good year to tell this story it in.

Best wishes to the company on the premiere of this work!

Conscription

It's the season of snow in our part of North America. In fact, I have another date with our snowblower this morning.

As I put on my hat with ear flaps, my face warmer, my heavy coat, my thick and lined gloves, and multi-layered, extremely warm boots, I can't help but think of conditions in Finland 100 years ago.

At this time in the winter of 1918, neighbours and friends were sorting themselves into sides. Red vs. White. Labourers vs. landowners/independent farmers/white-collar workers.

People had begun to talk about Finland in terms of "us" and "them." Helsinki had become the capital for the Reds. Vasa was the de facto capital of the White side.

And they'd begun to talk about fighting--how many, where, when. It had become apparent that young men would be conscripted to fight for the Whites.

In SILENCES, a group gathers in the basement of a church after a funeral. They share news. And they know that soon, they and their friends will be on a battlefield.

Without the kinds of cold-weather gear I put on this morning.

Now Available: SILENCES

I'm pleased that my novel, SILENCES: A NOVEL OF THE 1918 FINNISH CIVIL WAR, is now available from Shuniah House Books.

Here's the back cover:


Labour Day, 1955.
Near a creek in Port Arthur, Ontario, a man's body hangs at the end of a rope. The story of the body, and its missing shoe, begins in Finland, decades earlier and an ocean away.

In January, 1918, civil war breaks out in Finland. Jussi Mantere and his friends, the Solbakken brothers--Anders, Karl, and Ivor, known as Rabbit--as well as Karl's wife, Viktoria, are swept into the fighting. The war rages for months and the county is laid waste. When peace is declared, the price of mending the fractured country is silence: to heal and forget, both victor and vanquished, White and Red, are asked to not speak of the war.

In the ensuing years, Jussi and other survivors immigrate to Canada, bringing their silence with them. In Port Arthur's summer of 1955, events set in motion in 1918 come to haunt Jussi's family. A stranger--or is it someone Jussi knows?--threatens the peace and safety of his family. Jussi must decide whether and how to break his silence about the past and its horrors, and spare his grandson the bitter burden of generations-old resentments.


In the coming weeks and months, I'll share more about the war and my reasons for writing this novel.