A Woman's War Against Progress

In 1916 a young woman, Rahväema, leaves the forest community whereshe grew up, and sets off for a century-long adventure whose struggles andsufferings she could never have imagined. She becomes a campaigner forher Surelik language and culture, and in doing this she expands her horizonsand is paradoxically drawn away from the language she loves and wantsto defend. The novel confronts the personal costs of political activism andquestions our ability to mould our future rationally and morally, whilst alsosuggesting that we have no choice but to attempt precisely that.A fortuitous coincidence of events allows her to establish an autonomousrepublic for her people, the Surelikud, but power brings not only opportunitiesbut also compromises and betrayals. She lives too long and thus she livesto see her achievements crumble. The novel has many themes, but the wayprogress is used or abused in order to worsen the living conditions of humanityis the primary one. Rahväema is the first-person narrator but her ideas aboutprogress are not necessarily the author’s, but would be understandable insomeone coming from her background.The novel has an original structure involving a dictation which provokesarguments between the generations represented by the narrator and thewoman who writes her words. There are stories within the story, and reflectionson the evils some inventions bring with them.