As the
daughter of immigrant parents, Urve grew up in Toronto hearing stories about
the history and culture of Estonia. She led a double life for most of her
childhood. She was a normal Canadian student during the day, and an Estonian at
night and on weekends. Her “Canadian” friends didn’t understand why she had to
go to Estonian school on Friday nights, or rhythmic gymnastics on the weekends.
And where exactly was this tiny country that had been forgotten by the world
for decades after the Soviets occupied it?
Urve didn’t
realize that she wanted to be a writer so she pursued a career in
physiotherapy, followed by a career in management which spanned both the public
and private sectors of health care. Along the way, she developed and implemented
business plans, marketing plans, and strategic plans for a multinational
corporation, as well as hospitals.
Urve has
always been inspired by little-known stories of ingenuity, bravery, and
stubbornness, so a few years ago she started writing historical fiction for
teens. Her first book, The Darkest Corner of the World, is based on true
stories of the Estonian people and their struggle to survive during the Soviet
and Nazi occupations during World War II.
THE DARKEST CORNER OF THE WORLD
 |
| ISBN 978-1-77086-214-2 |
Who can you turn to for help, when your only choice is between two
evils?
In 1941,
Estonia is under the iron rule of the Soviet Union. Fifteen-year-old Madli is
struggling to understand why she can't raise her country's flag, why soldiers
are waiting at every corner, and why her father was taken away in the middle of
the night. Her annual vacation to Hiiumaa Island for the Midsummer celebration
is the one thing she has to look forward to.
But in the
midst of the celebrations, the Nazis invade the Soviet Union, and are on a path
that will take them through Estonia. When Madli hears about a band of
forest-dwelling freedom fighters determined to overthrow the Soviets at any
cost, she is forced to decide whether she'd rather live under the evil regime
she knows, or help another evil regime in hopes her father will be freed and
her nation's story heard.
The Darkest
Corner of the World is available at Indigo-Chapters locations, and independent
bookstores across Canada, as well as on-line at Chapters and Amazon.ca.
An excerpt can be
found on www.thedarkestcorneroftheworld.com
PRAISE FOR THE DARKEST CORNER OF THE WORLD
From CM magazine,
Volume XIX, No. 3. September 21, 2012: Highly recommended (***1/2 out of 4)
With a focus on the Baltic nation of Estonia,
Urve Tamberg's debut novel, The
Darkest Corner of the World, offers intimate insight into
what is generally an overlooked and unrepresented subject in the annals of
World War II history: the plight of Eastern Europe under Soviet occupation.
In the tradition of well-written historical fiction, Tamberg has managed
to strike a healthy balance between fact and fiction throughout; the
incorporation of the former is used appropriately not so much as a device to
develop or drive the plot forward, but more so as a means to provide richness
and authenticity to the time and proper context to events discussed. And while
the evidence of research is clear, it does not manifest itself directly in the
form of dates, places, and historical people per se. Wisely, a great deal of
effort is invested in building up Estonian culture, customs, and traditions,
much of which is lovingly dispensed through the advice and folklore of Madli's
grandparents. In a similar manner, Tamberg's development of physical setting,
that of the Estonian countryside and wilderness, works wonderfully to breathe
life into the story. The rugged landscape and environment of Hiiumaa Island
(the location of Madli's summer retreat) captures perfectly the resiliency of
the Estonian people during the war and, by extension, that which is inherent in
all humanity when confronted with crisis. Tamberg is able to impart this
beautiful message throughout the story right up to the very last words.
A worthy addition to the historical
fiction collection of any library, The
Darkest Corner of the World may also be an appropriate selection for
use in the classroom, ideally as a supplement to more traditional materials and
teachings of World War II history.
For photos of the
locations where the book is set, please visit Urve's Pinterest page.
WHERE TO FIND URVE
ONLINE:
Twitter: @utamberg
Facebook: Urve Tamberg - Author News
GET TO KNOW URVE
TAMBERG
MAUREEN: What’s
your favorite holiday?
URVE: Thanksgiving. I love to cook, eat, and socialize. We spend it at
the cottage with family and dogs, so it's a wonderfully relaxing day filled
with eating, drinking, and merriment. My kind of day.
MAUREEN: Where do
you most like to read and how often?
URVE: In the car waiting for my kids, in the kitchen cooking dinner,
in line-ups at the supermarket. Pretty much everywhere.
MAUREEN: What’s
next for you as an author?
URVE: A mystery set in the Soviet Union in 1990. This will also be a
YA book.
MAUREEN: What’s
your favorite hobby?
URVE: Cooking
MAUREEN: What’s the
best vacation you’ve ever been on?
URVE: Costa Rica with the family a few years ago. We ate breakfast
everyday in the open air restaurant and only few feet away, monkeys would be
swinging from the trees. It was such a beautiful country with amazing wildlife.
We saw a sloth on the ground. Apparently sloths come down from the trees every
couple of weeks to, ahem, do their business. We basically swarmed the poor
thing and watched him navigate a chicken wire fence. Being a sloth, it took him
quite a while and I have dozens of pictures of him.
MAUREEN: Cats or
dogs?
URVE: Definitely dogs.
MAUREEN: What’s
your favorite cartoon character?
URVE: Bugs Bunny. He's smart, clever, and a bit snarky.
MAUREEN: What turns
you off like nothing else?
URVE: Rudeness, ignorance, an unwillingness to learn new things, close
mindedness, bullying. Shall I go on?
MAUREEN: What sound
or noise do you love?
URVE: Rain
MAUREEN: Vanilla or
chocolate?
URVE: Chocolate. What's vanilla?
MAUREEN: Ha! What’s your
favorite dessert?
URVE: Interesting...I'm skipping to all the food questions. Chocolate.
Maybe chocolate cheesecake.
MAUREEN: Did you belong to a clique in high school? Which one
of the standard high school stereotypes did you best fit in to?
URVE: Nerdy only child. There was no clique
for that group, especially in a neighbourhood with large immigrant families.
MAUREEN: What is your favorite tradition from your childhood
that you would love to pass on or did pass on to your children?
URVE: Talking. It may sound weird, but with
technology, our conversations seem so much shorter. My kids want me to answer
questions, not discuss topics. When I was growing up, there was no other way to
communicate so we talked. I remember the phone rang constantly. Now the only
time it rings is if it's a telemarketer. I enjoy all the instant communication
of e-mail, and Facebook, and Twitter, but nothing beats a good face-to-face
conversation .
MAUREEN: Salsa or
guacamole?
URVE: Guacamole
MAUREEN: What
dreams have been realized as a result of your writing?
URVE: I love communicating ideas, and stories to people. And then
hearing their feedback and thoughts. For me, the writing is one side of the
conversation. The other side of the dialogue is hearing from my readers.
GOTTA ASK -- GOTTA
ANSWER
MAUREEN: How do you
pronounce your first name, and what is its origin?
URVE: "Ir-va" for my English friends. It's pronounced
slightly differently in Estonian, and I'm not sure those sounds exist in
English. Both my parents were immigrants from Estonia. I used to hate my name
but now I love it. I think I've grown into it. As an author, it makes me easy
to find on the Internet. It also means I need to behave myself since I can be
traced so easily. :)
A QUESTION FOR
READERS
URVE
ASKS: Lately, I've been thinking about the
similarities between dystopian novels and historical fiction? Let me give you a
few thoughts, and then I'd love to know your views.
I'm intrigued by
the similarities between some of concepts in dystopian literature, and the
reality of living under communism in the twentieth century. Teens may not
realize that events they perceive as dystopian actually happened in the
twentieth century. Fear of deportation, arrest, and torture were all tools that
communist dictators have used to keep the population in line.
Are the following
statements fact or fiction?
- Fifteen nations are controlled by a centralized political structure. Most of these nations were forcibly occupied.
- Citizens are not allowed to travel outside their country.
- Possession of food is a crime.
Sounds a bit like
The Hunger Games,
doesn't it? Panem is a post-apocalyptic nation where the countries of North
America once existed. The Capitol exercises political control over the rest of
the nation.
But all these statements are true.
For most of the
twentieth century, the Soviet Union was controlled by a centralized bureaucracy
based in Moscow. The USSR was comprised of fifteen nations including the former
republics of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania which had been forcibly occupied by
the Soviets.
The people of the
USSR were rarely allowed to travel to the West, and if they did, members of
their family were held back as insurance so that the person would return. If
they didn't return, their family faced arrest, torture, and deportation.
In the early
1930's, millions of people starved to death under Stalin's rule. In August
1932, a law came into force that stipulated all food was state property.
Possession of food became a crime. Peasants were not allowed to take food home
from the fields.
There are many
more examples and I hope talking about these real-life scenarios might pique
people's interest in history. I think it's a good way to start a discussion.
What do you think?
GIVEAWAY
Urve is giving
away a copy of THE DARKEST CORNER OF THE WORLD to one lucky commenter!
Note: Offer void where prohibited. Prizes
will be mailed to North America addresses only unless specifically mentioned in
the post. Odds of winning vary due to the number of entrants. Winners of
drawings are responsible for checking this site in a timely manner. If prizes
are not claimed in a timely manner, the author may not have a prize
available. Get Lost In A Story cannot be responsible for an author's failure to
mail the listed prize. GLIAS does not automatically pass email addresses to
guest authors unless the commenter publicly posts their email address.
Congratulations on your book release, Urve!
ReplyDeleteI think you pose an interesting question. I do see similarities between historical and dystopian fiction, but I think about from a slightly different direction--probably because I've written a book that's getting labelled dystopian (I think of it as post-apocalyptic suspense).
I think one reason that dystopian fiction is so popular, especially with young people, is that it allows readers to think about current or historical issues and ideologies--social, political, religious, economic--without getting caught up in the specific politics.
That said. I think historical fiction is hugely important. (Plus it's a category I've always enjoyed reading.) Kids who might not pay attention to history in school, (or adults who didn't), can learn about past events in a more immediate and emotional way through fiction. I'll never forget, for example, reading The Diary of Anne Frank for the first time... And I'm still learning about history through fiction all the time.
Thanks again for visiting!
Thanks Maureen - for hosting me on your blog, and your comment. I think you're correct about your reason for the popularity of dystopian novels. It does allow for the "what if" question to be asked, without immersing oneself in the politics, and often terrifying reality. It's always easier to discuss events in a hypothetical manner.
DeleteBut I hope that people don't forget the history. I never liked history in school because I thought it was boring. But somewhere along the way, I realized I wanted to know what people thought and felt, rather than memorize dates and battles. When I write, I try to explore the day to day aspects of living in conflict, and hope that approach resonates with people.
Interesting idea, Urve. Funny how these connections can be drawn between real and fictional events. Myself, I love books that explore an alternate history. They're often dystopian, too. The "what-ifs" are fascinating to consider. But even real-life events in history have many dystopian moments, elements and events that clever authors are quick to tailor into fiction.
ReplyDeleteHere's a historical snippet that always blows my mind. Only 150 years ago, boarding houses, employers and stores often posted signs that read "No dogs or Irish." Pretty unbelievable twist on "No shirts, no shoes, no service."
Urve, I'd be delighted to win a copy of your book. Your story of the Baltic states during WWII sounds fascinating.
Thanks, Heather. It is unbelievable what was "normal" even fifty years ago. I'm thinking of segregation in the southern USA. And your example about the Irish is similar. It makes you think about what we consider "normal" today. What will people one hundred years from now about politics, and our technology.
DeleteIt's wonderful to discover a new Canadian author. I really like the subject of your book. WWII history and the 1940s era is dangerous and interesting. I can believe that sometimes dystopian events have happened. Many horrific events are indeed facts. I have heard a bit of people starving under Stalin (the magnitude of it is sad) and other sad things. They do make you think and try to understand the world and its people better.
ReplyDeletecambonified(at)yahoo(dot)com
Thanks for you comment. It is unbelievable what kind of conditions people lived with only a few decades ago. It does make you appreciate our freedom, and democratic system.
DeleteCongratulations on your book release, Urve.
ReplyDeleteAnd welcome to GLIAS. Very cool interview!
~Angi
Thanks so much! It's a pleasure to visit.
ReplyDeleteUrve, my gosh, there is little difference in the examples you cite. Well done. Welcome to Get Lost in a Story. We're delighted you could join us. What an education. Adding The Darkest Corner of the World to my be read pile!
ReplyDeleteThanks for having me. And I'm glad you found the examples interesting. It's a bit frightening, isn't it?
DeleteCongrats on your new book!
ReplyDeleteThat's an interesting view. I just finished watching The Hunger Games. (I like the book better than the movie but it was interesting to see the visuals....) And yes, sometimes it is scary how similar history and fiction are!
I also like the book better than the movie. Suzanne is such a good writer and I had no trouble visualizing the setting and characters.
ReplyDeleteIntriguing question. They do seem pretty similar, especially with the examples you gave.
ReplyDeletebn100candg(at)hotmail(dot)com
Thanks for the comment. Like the saying says...Truth is stranger than fiction.
DeleteCongratulations on your book, Urve! Sounds absolutely fascinating, I'm off to find a copy!
ReplyDeleteMy family is your Baltic neighbor, Lithuania. My folks and their respective families immigrated to the US through Chicago and New Orleans (they weren't married yet). I grew up in a Lithuanian community. You mentioned you love to talk and that's what your family did when you were young...my family was the complete opposite. I heard few stories of wartime and USSR, except when Germany waged war and both families left Lithuania. I'm so envious of the stories your family told!
Much success with this book and many others. I'll be looking for them!
Thanks Audra - nice to meet a fellow Balt! It's a small community. I have to admit that I didn't pay much attention to their stories when I was young. Typical teenager. It was only in the last few years that I've really become fascinated by the history. It's so complicated, and most of the stories are not told. I think many immigrants tried to put the experience behind them, and focus on their new life.
ReplyDelete