The Cut Line Book Review

by Catalina Bonati

3/5 stars

The Cut Line by Carolina Pihelgas (out in February 2026) is the English translated version of Lõikejoon, originally published in Estonian in 2024. The story revolves around Liine, who has just broken out of fourteen-year toxic relationship with a man and moves to her family’s country cottage near Vōru. As she searches for meaning in her new circumstances, she engages with nature and hears from afar the gunshots and practices of a military base near the Russian border.

This contemporary literary work delves into Liine’s deep-seated depression and paranoia. She speaks to a specific audience—her ex—and tries to move on from the memory of his psychological abuse. She invests her time in nature, in gardening and in trying to control the pests in the orchard. Her landscape is pastoral and controlled, very much occupied by the villagers and herself and is not a wilderness. She has a dual relationship to nature; it calms her and keeps her mind occupied, but at the same time she is annoyed by insects and the upkeep of the orchard. Nevertheless, she uses it as a tool to rebuild her identity and self-confidence. She expresses, “I need to stay beneath the soil, in the ground, here is a safe remote place until I find the strength within me to sprout new shoots.” There is also an undisclosed war happening; Liine mentions hearing gunshots and airplanes from the nearby military base that increase in frequency throughout the book, representing her turbulent mental state. It is also mentioned that they are in wartime but that the village is not affected. Liine’s family in other places are also unaffected by this war, so it seems purely like a device used for illustrating metaphors. The cottage acts as an anchor for Liine during this time.

Liine has a very stressful relationship with her mother, who wants her to get back together with her abusive boyfriend because her age indicates that her time for starting a family is running out as no man will want her again. Her mother’s lack of awareness is like the gunshots in the background—a tempestuous intrusion into Liine’s search for wellbeing. Liine later discovers letters from her great-aunt Elvi who never married but which might indicate that she had multiple lovers and was quite an independent thinker, and these letters resonate with her and make her feel supported, although the letters are not chronological and often seem random.  

This book narrates the inner life of Liine and the recovery of identity after a bad breakup. It’s written simply and sometimes lacks direction, which makes the story seem a bit uninteresting at times. Liine’s depression fluctuates and she finds solace in gardening and her friends, though she despairs of her mother and the nearby war. The Cut Line is the perfect book for readers of contemporary literary fiction who enjoy writers like Otessa Moshfegh, Olga Tokarczuk, or Elif Batufman, and who pursue literature that is simple and succinct. 

This book was received as an ARC.