Reviews

• “Sofi Oksanen is an exceptionally innovative and powerful writer. […] This is indeed a book well timed for International Women’s Day on 8 March. /…/ Same River Twice makes your heart pound – and you will never again follow news from Putin’s war of aggression in Ukraine without thinking about the bestialities that are documented. ”

• “Sofi Oksanen’s essay is thoroughly documented. When she analyzes Russian history and Soviet propaganda in light of the war in Ukraine, and concludes that an old pattern has been given new nourishment by the species “Homo Putinicus”, i.e. by brainwashed nationalists, it is enough to cry. Or roar with rage.”

• “Sofi Oksanen – the gloomy and yet so insightful and vigilant voice of the north! Hardly anyone in Finland writes as politically as she does, tracing the lines of pain in history in order to understand the present and gaze into the future.”

• “Each chapter is an essay that stands well on its own; the alternating between the personal and the broader contexts allows a partly incomprehensible reality to become understandable for the reader. Collectively, the texts in the book form a highly convincing document. [Sofi Oksanen] shows us how misogyny is a premise for the totalitarian dictatorship, employing the systematic approach of a researcher and the insight of a novelist.”

• “A rigorous essay /…/ The author of “Purge” draws methodically from extensive and finely executed documentation. The entire book sparks with rage and sharp lucidity /…/ The way Oksanen intertwines the erasure of peoples and the destruction of an individual’s life encapsulates the power of the book.”

• “Same River Twice: Putin’s War Against Women, an essay that delivers, with composure and method, information about sexual crimes committed in Ukraine, the figure of the Russian male, and the misogynistic policy of the state.”

• “Hair-raisingly fierce and extremely relevant, but above all, it is brilliantly knowledgeable.”

• “With this book, Sofi Oksanen is definitely a rising star in the essay field. /…/ Oksanen brings a top-quality work to the field of Finnish essays, which will certainly generate discussion and gain international attention as well.”

• “Oksanen’s fresh approach is anything but theoretical word-twisting. The book is full of interesting examples, experiences and events, which altogether make the themes palpable and influential. The Russian imperialism rises to be the key concept.”

• “Same River Twice is a strong manifesto from an outspoken author who knows the details of this colonial power’s oppression of women and censorship.”

• “Same River Twice is written with intensity and energy. [A] highly readable non-fiction book about a leader and a country on which we must have a sharp spotlight.”