About
Dog Park is the sixth novel of award-winning Finnish author Sofi Oksanen. The plot slowly uncovers to us a life story of a woman from Ukraine who happened to work in the black fertility market. We jump between the past memories and the present life of a protagonist and often find her sitting on a bench in a dog park in Helsinki.
For me, the dog park and that particular bench create a strong metaphor of a place where you can come back to a traumatic past and where the lead characters meet again with their hidden fears. I wanted to picture those states and show how emotionally unbearable her life is with a fear of being caught by her past.
For me, the dog park and that particular bench create a strong metaphor of a place where you can come back to a traumatic past and where the lead characters meet again with their hidden fears. I wanted to picture those states and show how emotionally unbearable her life is with a fear of being caught by her past.
Drafts
Process
The novel is very tense, and sometimes it feels like a psychological thriller mixed with a social drama.
My intention was to emphasize this emotional struggle and that is why I chose unpredictable analogue technique (mixing gouache with ink) rather than my comfort zone — digital drawing.
My intention was to emphasize this emotional struggle and that is why I chose unpredictable analogue technique (mixing gouache with ink) rather than my comfort zone — digital drawing.
I experimented a lot to create blurred images and letters that picture the uncertainty and pain that flows through the story. But I couldn't help adding some cute details like a white dog on the back just to make the reader smile a bit.
Final cover
Sofi Oksanen Dog Park
• Ukrainian Edition •
Credits:
Publisher: Komora Publishing House
Translation: Jurko Zub
Illustration: Mari Kinovych
Layout design: Mykhailo Fedyshak
Editor: Iryna Nikolaichuk
Proofreader: Yuliia Moroz
