I reallllllly wanted to love this one - the jacket made it seem like it would tick all of my Most Favorite boxes, but this just didn't land for me. It was hard to get into (and hard to finish). I'm sad I didn't love it more! Maybe my expectations were too high.

The End of Drum-Time explores the cultural clashes among the Nordic people. Sami people, also called Lapps, kept being pushed up north above the Arctic Circle as no one wanted to bother with them and wanted them out of the way. Sami received some freedom in the north as they crossed the borders with their reindeers. But with time, the Christian settlers started dominating even this most norther land. With their domination, they were suppressing Sami traditions.

Set in the middle of 19th century Sweden. The characters are superbly developed. We meet an array of very interesting characters.

Lars Levi is the pastor, who seems to be affected by the death of his son. His sermons have become wild, supposedly affecting some people with sickness. Curiosity got hold of some people filling the church as they wanted to see who’d go crazy next.

Henrik in his store sells alcohol illegally. He came to this remote area and would have left the same day if he had money. But he got fooled by his uncle who promised it’d be easy to make a fortune off of Lapps’ drinking.

Ivvar is the main character, and the love attraction for some women in this story. With his father, Biettar, they’re both Sami herders. Biettar has a religious awakening and afterwards absorbing Christian values. As a result, more and more Sami people abandon their traditions and beliefs.

When it comes to plot, what drives it are the love connections to Ivvar and the change his father experiences. After meeting this phenomenal array of characters, I was ready for something more happening in their lives. The plot is not the strong force of this story.

There is a lot to praise about this story: rich in character development and culture exploration and the way of life and beautiful prose. But I wished the plot was stronger to make the pace faster.

When reading a historical fiction book you can tell if the author is writing from their knowledge and love of history or just the love of historical fiction and this author definitely has a great grasp on Swedish history. Not only that her talent for riding a superb when Beeter came into the church and God on his knees I could definitely feel the awkwardness in the room. I have heard of Lapland before but never told in an epic story like this one with hopeful romance, men’s ruination, greediness and religion end it all makes for a superb book that I highly recommend. I would definitely, definitely read another book by this author and think this one would make for a great audiobook if they had a great narrator. I love this book and highly recommend that it was a definite five star read for any historical fiction fan. I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

Setting her latest novel in the northern-most Swedish village of Karesuando--just across the river from Finland--during the mid-19th century, Hanna Pylvainen gifts readers with a captivating and educational historic novel about real-life Vicar Lars Levi Laestadius (1800-1861) and his impact on the Sámi reindeer herders, who roamed across Sápni, the Sámi homelands, in what is now northern Norway, Sweden, and Finland.

Shortly after the book opens, Biettar Rasti, a reputed Sámi shaman, is “awakened” at Lutheran missionary Laestadius’ church amidst freezing weather, bodily tremors, and an earthquake. To the pastor many had labeled “Mad Lasse,” Biettar’s conversion promises success, for if Biettar is converted, Sámi after Sámi will follow, swearing off alcohol as a result.

Such a switch to abstinence will have a cost. Having been exiled to Karesuando as the result of a slowly revealed backstory, Henrik Lindström has been extending credit at the village store despite needing to pay off a debt to the uncle who set him up in business to get rich by selling illegal liquor to the Sámi. Henrik, himself, finds it easier to drink than to worry about his debt. When Uncle Frans shows up determined to collect from Henrik and ultimately from the Sámi, trouble is sure to follow.

Focusing largely on Mad Lasse’s daughter Willa and her infatuation with Biettar’s son Ivvár, The End of Drum-Time dramatizes a series of cultural clashes: Sami and non-Sami, religious and non-religious, evangelical Christian and “pagan,” rural and urban, prosperous and poor, etc. Along with the cultural clashes come the personal attractions, misunderstandings, jealousies, career aspirations, greed, and struggles to survive. In addition to characters already named, readers should long remember others such as Willa’s sister Nora, Risten Tomma, and Old Sussu.

Readers should also come away having learned much about Sámi culture. I can’t help feeling the wiser for being able to explain words like siida, lávvu, gákti, and sieidi, for understanding the nature and use of shoe-grass and the yoik, and even for knowing the complex ear-marking system for reindeer, which reveals much about the nature of Sámi families.

Furthermore, I will long remember Ivvár’s remark to Willa after speaking of the end of drum-time: “but actually it is always ending . . . it ends in all these little ways. Not even a big satisfying crash.” Readers will experience history in the making, a culture dying, the future still a mystery

Many thanks to NetGalley and Henry Holt and Company. Although it’s only mid-January, the remaining books I read in 2023 have their work cut out for them if they are to top this one in my mind.

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I liked the premise, believing the story was an opportunity to learn about an unfamiliar culture, but turned out it wasn’t for me. I wasn’t able to relate to the setting or the characters.

A clash of cultures about a lesser known people and region in the world.

I really wanted to enjoy this book more than I did. I had basically no knowledge about the Sami people so I thought I could learn some more about their culture. Some of the culture shows through, but I really couldn't find that connection with the characters. I'm not sure if that was due to the style of writing or the frequent character pov switching.

This book is definitely unique topic wise, but wasn't as glistening of a read as I was expecting.

Thank you to Henry Holt and Netgalley for providing me a copy of this ARC for my honest review.

I admit to coming close to giving up on this somewhat dense at times but ultimately intensely emotional novel set in 1852 Sweden (sort of). It's the story of what happens after Biettar, formerly heavy drinker, Sami reindeer herder, and father of Ivvar has a spiritual awakening at a sermon by Lars Levi, father of Nora and Willa (as well as several other children). Ivvar finds himself overwhelmed by the reindeer, in love with but rejected by Risten, and in debt to Henrik, who has been sent to this frozen spot by his uncle to run the local store. Willa is entranced by Ivvar, so much so that she ultimately runs away from her home- skiing for 48 hours to meet the herd- and then finds herself on the outside with the Sami. Nora, meanwhile, falls for Henrik and Risten finds her own new husband is enthralled by Christianity. This is very much in the small places- in the description of the snow, the reindeer, the living spaces, the clothes (snow grass in boots). This is a novel that takes patience but is ultimately quite rewarding. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. Great read.

"The Sami...had survived the centuries of being pushed north...this far north [the Arctic Circle], it tended to be too inconvenient...for others to bother very much with them." In accordance with the Lapp Codicil, a treaty between Sweden and Norway, the Sami were neutral citizens. They were exempt from military service. They were allowed to move their reindeer through their border. A required tithe was collected on holy days. On these days, trading for supplies was conducted at Henrik's Supply Store. The tiny church located in Sweden was filled with Finnish farmers and Sami herders. The Crown tracked each of its citizens via the State Church. "The Church was functionally the Crown, and its pastors not only the arms of God but the arms of the law...".

The year was 1852. Pastor Lars Levi Laestadius was a man of extremes but "put credence in what was felt." His sermons had become particularly wild, thus the nickname, Mad Lasse. Lar's children were raised to be kind and gracious but pity for the impoverished Sami life-style "did not extend toward joining with them in anything beyond a spiritual alliance.". Lars told the Sami they were not below anybody-something the Sami had not heard from anyone of authority.

While Lars preached abstinence, Henrik's Supply Store sold alcohol. Henrik, a settler, "hadn't grown up to be cold and call it happiness...he was of the opinion that the darkness was going to drive them all mad so they might as well go down drinking." A fortune could be made from Sami drinking. Often after slaughtering eating reindeer, there were not any expendable reindeer to exchange for the drinking debt. The debt kept mounting.

Lars "sensed" a presence during his sermon. Biettar Raisti, a shaman and reindeer herder of significance, entered the church. What an accomplishment for Lars if Biettar repented and was saved. How opportune that an earthquake occurred during Biettar's awakening. Biettar would clash with his only son, Ivvar when he decided to study the Bible and be housed with Pastor Lars's family. Ivvar and Biettar had between them enough reindeer to stay alive, enough to eat, but not enough to support a wife for Ivvar...for every person you needed fifteen to twenty reindeer, the bare minimum on which to subsist. "Suddenly Ivvar understood: his father had been practicing, letting Ivvar practice being alone with the herd."

"Ivvar was desperate to tell someone all of the stories of his life, [he] sat on the crest of hill at which he had seen Willa...and waited." He knew Willa was the pastor's daughter. "Mad Lasse saves all his energy for his preaching, to his children he says almost nothing." The pastor's home was a chimney-less, window-less wooden cabin with plank walls covered with pelts of reindeer. " The cabin trapped in emptiness and loneliness. "Willa had never experienced desire...she experienced pleasure at the thought of Ivvar" Their speech was effortless. She asked him about Sami Heaven. Even in Heaven there were reindeer.

Easter time was coming. The Sami would drive the reindeer herd to the sea. Willa's chance of seeing Ivvar would be gone for five to six months. "The Church did not seem uppermost in her mind...This was her trial...thinking how nice it would be to be led into temptation...not Heaven-acceptable thoughts."

"The End of Drum-Time" by Hanna Pylvainen captures the clash of Christian culture with the customs of the tundra dwelling Sami. This thoroughly researched and detailed work of historical fiction immerses the reader in the hardscrabble life of reindeer herding where "reindeer were not merely a measurement of wealth, but wealth itself." Highly recommended.

Thank you Henry Holt and Co. and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I realized within the first chapter that this book was not for me, or at least not for me right now. The writing was impeccable, but there was something about the style of storytelling that immediately put me off, and I'm not sure why I experienced that disconnect. The story being told also didn't capture me in any way. I can tell that this is a beautifully crafted book, and I know it's one that has already and will continue to touch readers deeply. Perhaps one day I'll revisit this and it will land better for me, but at this moment in my life, it simply didn't work for me.

In the wilds of Scandinavia, somewhere between Finland and Norway and Sweden, there is a small village of settlers that includes a nomadic population of Sámi. The dynamics are difficult to parse at first, but divisions soon become clear between families, individuals, and cultures. Willa, daughter of the Lutheran minister who is attempting to convert the indigenous population to Christianity, finds herself drawn to Ivvár, a Sámi reindeer herder who is struggling with his future and his alcohol consumption. When they are caught together, Willa decides to make the journey north with the reindeer and their people, and the life she returns to will never be the same.

This novel is GORGEOUS in scope and prose. The imagery is lush and the characters are endearing, even the problematic ones. The chapters are long, but don't let that deter you — it takes a bit of time to understand what's going on in the beginning, but it will sweep you along fairly effortlessly afterward. And the ending! Never in my life have I had a book end in such an abrupt/cliffhanging fashion and thought, "wow that was actually perfect." HEAR ME OUT: it's abrupt, but not in a way that's upsetting, more in a way that allows you to create your own ending for pretty much every character, which you subconsciously already did as you were reading. So it's not unsatisfying at all. I've no idea how Hanna Pylväinen accomplished this, but bravo.

Also, let me be clear that Willa is the star of this novel. Willa is the one who takes risks, challenges herself, and finds her place in the world. It takes her a while, but cut her some slack — she's young. Ivvár is literally the reindeer-herding version of a teenage bad boy, so just keep that in mind if you find yourself rolling your eyes at some of Willa's decisions or lack of action. I fully recommend this book if you love atmospheric historical fiction! I also learned a TON about Sámi culture, which I found fascinating.

Thank you to Hanna Pylväinen, Henry Holt & Co, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC!

An incredibly beautiful rendering of a time and place that I knew nothing about, my one issue was the really, really long opening chapter, but I suspect that's a personal problem lmao

In the mid-nineteenth century settlers were pushing into the traditional territory of the Sami reindeer herders. The nomadic Sami had no country or political power, the lands they traveled across ruled by the Swedes or the Russians. The Sami were at the bottom in a mix of cultures and languages and states. Christian settlers with their farms and trading posts and churches pressed to dominate and destroy the Sami culture. With them came alcohol, bringing ruin to the Sami who sacrificed more reindeer than they could afford to buy it.

The End of Drum Time captures the story of people caught up in the clash of cultures. The Laps, a derogatory name for the Sami, and the Swedes settling in the North. The Christians condemning the Sami shamanistic religion as devilish magic. The capitalists bent on profit at any cost. Willa, the daughter of the evangelistic and pious preacher Lars Levi, rebels against his teaching; in love with a handsome Sami herder, Ivvar, she pursues him. Ivvar’s father Biettar, once a prominent herder and shaman, hears Lars preach and repents his sins, becoming Lars’ disciple. Unable to care for the herd on his own, knowing that his father’s debt to the store will decimate the herd, Ivvar knows he cannot marry Willa, a girl without reindeer wealth.

“The church was functionally the Crown, and the pastors not only the arm of God but the arm of the law,” the author explains. Lars Levi attracted people who traveled miles by sled to experience his sermons, the conversions, the talking in tongues. He was particularly against drinking, which was ruining many a Sami. As it was ruining Henrik, who ran the store, and the reindeer herder Biettar.

Biettar was drawn into the church and renounced his sins, staying on to learn, neglecting his herd. His son Ivvar is left to care for the deer himself, which were diminished in numbers to near poverty-level, for Biettar had sold deer to pay for alcohol, It was a round the clock job, overwhelming for one man.

Henrik was in love with Lar’s daughter Nora. He was in debt to his uncle who funded the store. But he was drinking the stock and losing money.

The church authorities considered Lars a problem and reassigned him. Henrik’s uncle Frans, a bishop, decides that he will replace Lars and undo the ‘damage’. He intends to suppress all the emotional demonstrations of Lar’s faith, and he would remove the stigma of drinking. After all, the store had a lot to gain by selling booze to the Sami. Franz is also the law, and he uses his power in a draconian way, spurring a crisis among the Sami.

The end of a culture and way of life is at the center of the novel. The descriptions of the Sami way of life, their migration and the slaughter of the deer, the grass that lined their boots, the way the cold reddened their cheeks, the long, arduous treks herding the deer to feeding grounds, was so interesting. The characters yoik, the songs particular to a person or place or thing, wordless, the singer embodying the subject of the yoik.

The story builds to a shattering climax.

Lars Levi Læstadius was a real person, and the religious movement he inspired did threaten the Sami way of life while his prohibition of alcohol had a positive impact.

The End of Drum Time is a fantastic read about a people few Americans know about, an epic story of a culture in crisis.