The End of Drum Time,

by Hanna Pylvainen

Set in the 1850 in the far north of Lapp-land, this immersive novel is based upon a real life event of a Lutheran minister who comes to try to convert native Sami people who are semi-nomadic and live by herding reindeer.  One of the herders has an awakening, and converts.  The two societies, the minister in town, and the itinerant  reindeer herders could not be more different.  The effects of the conversion on both societies, compounded by the minister's daughter believing she is in love with the son of the convert, the ability of the herders to migrate with their flocks being challenged by treaties they are not party to which change national borders, the minister being removed from his post by his church hierarchy; are  explored in this elegant novel which raises issue of faith,love,  politics, identity, race, and the pull between rationality and intuition.  Thoroughly absorbing, it transports the reader to a far away place and time, with issues relevant to the present.  It was a finalist for a National Book Award in 2023.

 Janet Aserkoff