 She has crafted a brilliantly grounded tale, full of raw humanity and the grime of precarious existence, and woven it through with a beautiful and haunting mythlore in such a way that both seemingly disparate, clashing elements actually serve and enhance each other: in doing so she has created a tale that is as achingly beautiful as it is bruised, and as hopeful as it is angry… and one of the best things I’ve read this year.  On The Soldiers Of Octova follows a small unit of the Women’s Red Guard during the Finnish civil war of 1918. The story blends historical fiction with folk horror to create an intensely personal narrative that nonetheless communicates the weight of the wider moment with great fluency. Through the third person close perspective of Siiri, Mauro gives us a ground level insight into the real women who made up these bands of soldiers. Mauro has always had a talent for exquisite character work, but here she excels herself; with incredible efficiency she breathes life into a diverse cast of women facing extraordinary circumstances. The characters live on the page such that I found myself immediately, painfully invested in them all - even the ones I didn’t like very much. The historical moment helps, of course, in that there is an inherent sense of threat, of danger, that permeates the entire narrative. Mauro is incredibly canny in how she makes best use of this, allowing the readers imagination to do almost all the work, trusting that the simple facts of the time and place of the story will carry its own weight. In doing so, she demonstrates a level of understanding of craft, and of the writer/reader relationship, that is both extraordinary and thrilling. I felt from the first page that I was in the hands of a powerful talent, and that feeling only grew as the narrative developed. With such a vivid cast of characters the narrative feels incredibly organic, the story naturally flowing from the situation, and the way the unfolding events play on the different personalities of the group. The sense of place is also evoked brilliantly by way of well crafted descriptions of landscape and an eye for a telling detail (ill-fitting uniforms, for example) that allow the imagination of the reader to build a crisp sense of the environment of the story. The story pivots midway in a more personal and immediate direction; Mauro’s clear love and respect for folklore bringing an unfamiliar-to-me but either meticulously researched or exquisitely crafted legend into a desperate survival situation. That said, the weight of the wider history maintains a pressure throughout, on the minds of the characters and of the reader; and for me, one of the themes, as well realised as I can immediately recall reading anywhere, is that of the harshness of existence for the flesh and blood unfortunates who find themselves snarled up in the gears of history. Mauro avoids any easy answers here; there are no straight-up ‘goodies’ and ‘baddies’, and the violence and flaws on both sides of the conflict are described even handedly. Nevertheless, Mauro clearly does have sympathy for these women soldiers, and their plight, and the warmth (and prickliness) of their humanity serves as a constant contrast to the harsh cold of their environment. On The Shoulders Of Octova feels like yet another step change from Mauro, in terms of both ambition and realisation. She has crafted a brilliantly grounded tale, full of raw humanity and the grime of precarious existence, and woven it through with a beautiful and haunting mythlore in such a way that both seemingly disparate, clashing elements actually serve and enhance each other: in doing so she has created a tale that is as achingly beautiful as it is bruised, and as hopeful as it is angry… and one of the best things I’ve read this year. Highly recommended. KP 30/10/20 Mauro’s writing throughout is excellent, whether through the establishment of the setting or the characters or the pace and the tension at a number of key moments in the text. It’s skilfully expertly plotted, and the balance between reality and folklore is skilfully handled.  Two things I knew little about before reading Laura Mauro’s fabulous novella, ‘On the Shoulders of Otava’: The Finnish Civil War of 1918 and Finnish mythology. Both are key parts of the novel. The wartime setting means conditions are awful, resources are scarce and danger is everywhere. Alongside this brutal reality sits the folklore of Finland which leaves the reader with a constant questions about what is real and what is imagined, whether there is a rational explanation for the strange events or if they truly are something supernatural. Our protagonist, Siiri is part of the Women’s Guard who have been stationed in a remote Finnish village. They struggle to receive the same respect and responsibility as their male counterparts, despite it being established early on that many of the men are drunks and few could be described as competent. Strangeness is present in the novella from the very beginning when one of the male soldiers becomes sick. Osku stops sleeping and wanders, staring, unable to recognise those before as if they’re even human. Then he snaps and attacks the Squad Leader. Rumours spread that he’d been out in the woods and he’d seen something, a light. Siiri’s close friend Elina loves her stories of folklore, and she suggests the light may be a Liekkio, a spirit of a dead that dances in the trees like a lantern to lead people astray. The Women’s Guard become split, leaving Siiri to part with Elina and set off with Mirva and Ester to travel towards the front-line to join the fighting. Mirva has taken on the role of leader, and Ester is arrogant and something of an antagonist, always making comments designed to irritate Siiri. The relationship between Siiri and Ester is of great importance to the novella. They are somewhat dependent upon each other for survival but in many ways are very different, and the conflict between the two ramps the tension right up, particularly in the middle of the novel when Siiri has an important decision to make. Both characters have their own personalities, their own motivations, ideologies, wants and desires, and the both can’t possibly get what they want. The characterisation is very strong throughout and their conflict a real highlight. As they get ever closer to the enemy the presence watching from the woods takes on an even greater significance and this is where the conflict between the rational idea that an enemy soldier is hunting them and the irrational but growing possibility of it being something spiritual or supernatural. Siiri falls back on the stories of folklore that Elina shared with her, but remains rational at heart. It’s a dynamic that kept me thoroughly engaged in the story. Another feature is the cold. This novella will have you reaching for you dressing gown ad donning a pair of gloves. The freezing conditions are a constant in the story and are so well described that the cold gnaws you down to the bone. You understand the way it saps the stamina from the characters and feel like you’re trudging through the snow with them. Mauro’s writing throughout is excellent, whether through the establishment of the setting or the characters or the pace and the tension at a number of key moments in the text. It’s skilfully expertly plotted, and the balance between reality and folklore is skilfully handled. I do enjoy folklore, and especially that which I previously had little to no knowledge of. Mauro seems to be aware that many of her readers will not be knowledgeable about the folklore of Finland and manages to weave the tales into her narrative smoothly. I was left with more than enough to understand its implications to the story and a taste for more. I thoroughly recommend this novella. If you’re looking for an example of folklore brought to life and played off against a very real setting, you’d struggle to find a better example.  Siiri Tuokkola takes up arms for the Women’s Guard during Finland’s 1918 Civil War along with her comrades. Stationed in a remote village outpost, rumours of strange things in the woods come to a head when Siiri’s comrade Mirva goes missing in a blizzard. Determined to find her, Siiri braves the deep forest, where mysterious lights weave through the trees, and those who look upon them for too long may find themselves afflicted by a strange madness. But there are worse things in the forest than lights, and Siiri must face them if she is to find Mirva before it’s too late. BIO Laura Mauro was born and raised in London and now lives in Essex under extreme duress. Her short story 'Looking for Laika' won the British Fantasy award for Best Short Fiction in 2018, and 'Sun Dogs' was shortlisted for the Shirley Jackson award in the Novelette category. Her debut collection, Sing Your Sadness Deep is out now from Undertow Books. She likes Japanese wrestling, Finnish folklore and Russian space dogs. She blogs sporadically at lauramauro.com   Comments are closed.
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