Book Review of The Cut Line by Carolina Pihelgas (trans Darcy Hurford)

 

Name of Book: The Cut Line ( original Lõikejoon) 

Author: Carolina Pihelgas (trans Darcy Hurford) 

ISBN: 9781642861624

Publisher: World Editions 

Type of book: Estonia, summer, escape, 2020s, abusive relationships, toxicity, family, nature, threat, imminent war with Russia 

Year it was published: 2026 (original 2024)

Summary:

In the dog days of an Estonian summer, Liine flees to the countryside to put a conclusive end to her toxic 14-year relationship. She undergoes every stage of separation in a lone farmstead amid forests. Physical labor and gardening help her withstand her ex-partner’s threats, the incredulity of friends and family, and her own anguish. Dread is pervasive in this novel. Set in the near future, it is filled with vivid depictions of the threat of climate change. All around Liine, nature is facing acute drought and heat. No less menacing is the presence of an expanding NATO base close to the cottage at the Russian border. The world’s largest military alliance is practicing for an attack. Explosions and shots ring in the distance while Liine tries to recover from fourteen years of violence. Yet she simply follows the rhythm of nature as summer unfolds. While her environment changes around her, Liine—always in the garden chopping wood, weeding, sowing—undergoes profound transformations, too. The Cut Line is a story of fear, self-blame, grief, numbness, and anger ultimately giving way to hope and healing, joy and lightness.

Characters:

There are a few characters namely Liina, her family, her ex-partner and the previous owners of the vacation house. Liina is best described as plucky and determined to be by herself in the dilapidated vacation house and have as few interactions with people as possible. As the story goes on, more is revealed about Liina's history, that of her much older and abusive partner as well as the previous owners who have had their own mysterious histories. There is also a chance to meet Liina's family when there is a summer solstice celebration of sorts, in particular her sister and her mother and her aunts. 

Theme:

I would guess main idea would be the healing that countryside and nature can offer to people who are looking to getting away from it all. 
Plot:

The story is in first person narrative from Liina's point of view and begins when she arrives in the vacation house in the summer of 2020s. The story is also written as stream of conscious which means no quotation marks for those who have issues with it, and it lasts until summer is over and Liina realizes that eventually she must face the reality of life. There is some sort of delicate balance between the nostalgia for those who have experienced Eastern Europe summers, a fantasy, yet at the same time there is modern day and reality which makes the story sadder because fantasies can't last forever. I definitely imagine myself coming back to the story and rereading it, 

Author Information:
(From goodreads)

N/A
Opinion:

I grew up in former Soviet Union and came to USA at eight and a half years of age. Yet its embarrassing for me to admit that I know next to nothing about Eastern European history, nor have I had a chance to read stories from Eastern Europe. Reading The Cut Line definitely brought back memories of summers from Soviet Union, in particularly the vacation houses, the innumerable plants and trees as well as forests that inhabited the area, The story is very lyrical, somewhere between nostalgia yet one knows that its in present day, a menacing shadow of Russia on the horizon. Having said all that, I honestly enjoyed reading the story and watching Liina attempt to heal from an abusive relationship through nature. What I also found interesting is that a little afterwards I read The Silent Period by Francesca Manfredi and both deal with silence of sorts, one is of natural silence in nature (Liina ends up barely talking with others, most of her days are spent working in the garden and taking care of the house) and other unnatural silence (main character just stops talking and using social media and lives in the city.) It was definitely both a healing and a heartbreaking book, especially watching reality creeping closer and closer and not having a choice to continue on with the story. 

This was given for review

4 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)