tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63634927188375201222024-03-19T10:00:47.016+00:00Finnish and Scandinavian ReviewCritical review of books from Finland and Scandinavia.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02658858373848443540noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363492718837520122.post-11378908633786125742013-09-28T21:27:00.000+01:002013-09-28T21:27:22.277+01:00Too Many Blogs..
Looking at how rarely I have time to post on this blog, I've come to the conclusion that I may just have too many blogs. You may know that as well as writing this blog, I also write another one, Helena's London Life.
Plus, at the moment, I'm in the middle of writing a sequel to my first Nordic love story, The Englishman.
So…I'm afraid I'm going to have to say goodbye to Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02658858373848443540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363492718837520122.post-91025352748666302392013-02-10T20:52:00.001+00:002013-02-10T20:52:41.204+00:00Siri by Lena Einhorn
I'm more
than a little obsessed with August Strindberg so when my sister brought me this
Swedish book about his first and most famous wife, Siri von Essen, I
was delighted.
Lena
Einhorn is a well respected non-fiction writer in Sweden, but this book about
the famous Swedish playwright's wife, is her first novel. In the
acknowledgements, Einhorn reveals that the book started out as a Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02658858373848443540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363492718837520122.post-9303739158586922952012-10-22T20:04:00.000+01:002013-02-10T20:50:02.853+00:00The Bat by Jo Nesbo
I really wanted to like this first Harry Hole novel, but I'm afraid I found it rather far fetched and dull. For me the best thing about Jo Nesbo's Harry Hole novels is their dark and moody Norwegian setting, so perhaps I didn't like The Bat because it's set in Sydney. A Norwegian girl is found brutally murdered, and the Australian police send for a Norwegian policeman to pacify the Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02658858373848443540noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363492718837520122.post-1783531260717389432012-10-19T15:04:00.001+01:002012-10-19T15:17:18.589+01:00The Human Part by Kari Hotakainen
The Human Part is an abstract and quite one-sided view of modern Helsinki (and Finland), but as long as you remember this fact, Hotakainen's quirky novel is a joy to read.
The format of the novel is refreshingly different. The story starts with the narrative of the subject of the book, Salme Sinikka Malmikunnas, a a retired haberdashery shop owner. Salme meets an author with writer's block, Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02658858373848443540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363492718837520122.post-52447127578699572502012-07-26T13:35:00.001+01:002012-07-26T13:35:44.141+01:00In the Darkness by Karin Fossum
In the Darkness is one of 10 books this prolific Norwegian queen of crime, Karin Fossum, has written featuring the reticent Inspector Seijer. This first book in the series, which came out in Norway in 1995, has only now been translated into English, even though the other nine titles have already been published here.
I am a great fan of Fossum. Her plots keep you in as much suspense Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02658858373848443540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363492718837520122.post-49474807484187320112012-03-28T18:47:00.004+01:002012-03-30T11:41:12.033+01:00Unwanted by Kristina Ohlsson
This crime story, set in modern Stockholm, is Ohlsson's debut novel. It has a gruesome subject matter of disappearing children, a current favourite topic amongst Scandinavian crime writers, it seems. (See Boy in a Suitcase by Leene Kaarbol and Agnette Friis, for example.)
'Unwanted', however, is a very engaging story and not as harrowing as the subject matter would suggest.
The narrative Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02658858373848443540noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363492718837520122.post-90845472599581733292011-08-04T19:32:00.002+01:002011-08-04T19:45:59.901+01:00Bad Intentions by Karin Fossum
As you might have noticed from this blog, I do really enjoy a good Scandinavian crime novel. I treat them as leisure reading, as opposed to books I have to read for work or reviews. That being said, most books give me real pleasure to read, but you know how sometimes you just want a really good, easy, rollocking crime novel to get your mind into different gear.
But when I began reading Karin Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02658858373848443540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363492718837520122.post-17405021163562415322011-05-05T18:35:00.001+01:002011-05-20T11:01:53.131+01:00My Soul to Take by Yrsa Sigurdardottir
Yrsa Sigurdardottir
It's refreshing to read a Scandinavian crime thriller that hasn't got a middle-aged, morose male as the heroic detective. I do love Wallander and his Scandinavian angst, as well as the dark political intrigue of Stieg Larsson's Millennium series, but sometimes it's lovely to have a heroine who is intelligent, funny and has no piercings.
Although the life of Yrsa Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02658858373848443540noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363492718837520122.post-21632844392430329982011-04-25T18:54:00.001+01:002011-04-25T18:55:34.698+01:00The Year of the Hare by Arto Paasilinna
The Year of the Hare became a classic in Finland as soon as it was published 1975. Only two years later it was made into a film. It has since been translated into 25 languages and has also been selected as one of the representative masterpieces of literature by UNESCO.
It's midsummer and Vatanen, a newspaper journalist, together with a photographer from Helsinki; 'two dissatisfied, cynical men,Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02658858373848443540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363492718837520122.post-78867716811699388032010-12-09T14:16:00.001+00:002010-12-18T08:30:35.366+00:00Purge by Sofi Oksanen
It took me a long time to get around reading this book. From the very start when I saw it in Finland and then heard about its brilliance from my friends, I knew the subject matter would be very difficult for me to read about. Especially if the book was well written.
I knew the purge in the book referred to the mass deportation of Estonian 'dissidents' by Stalin to Siberian gulags. I also Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02658858373848443540noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363492718837520122.post-36302853142025197332010-04-05T20:08:00.010+01:002010-04-06T09:45:49.964+01:00'When I Forgot' by Elina HirvonenI'm not sure I would have carried on reading this book had I not promised you, my faithful few blog readers, to review it.At the beginning I was both confused and yes, frankly bored, with the narrative. English readers who don't like foreign literature often tell me it's because 'It reads like a translation'. I've always taken this to be a sign of certain kind of small-mindedness, even snobbery, Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02658858373848443540noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363492718837520122.post-11495895707584449832010-03-25T10:22:00.025+00:002010-03-25T12:33:20.705+00:00The reading list and Outi PakkanenWell Helsinki, although cold, was inspiring. Between ballet, birthday suppers and practical arrangements moving Daughter into her new apartment, I penned a skeletal draft for my next novel. But I also managed to spend an hour or two browsing at Akateeminen Kirjakauppa on North Esplanade. I concentrated on modern translations and here's what I found.'When I Forgot' by Elina Hirvonen'A Frayed, Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02658858373848443540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363492718837520122.post-4354439535939368852010-03-10T12:36:00.008+00:002010-03-10T12:57:00.218+00:00Apology Number TwoI know I've been neglecting this blog - again.But do not despair. I'm off to Finland tomorrow and will hopefully come back with suitcase-full of new Finnish literature. I even promise to read them and then even review them...in time.At the moment I'm in what we fondly in our family call the Millennium Vortex. I read the first two books in Stieg Larsson's trilogy in quick succession and am Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02658858373848443540noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363492718837520122.post-71363940797426927272010-01-25T19:49:00.022+00:002010-01-27T18:01:55.552+00:00My Wallandergate Last weekend a couple of friends mentioned the British Wallander series starring Kenneth Branagh.'There's a limit to how much bleakness you can stand,' said one.This coincided with a brief interview with the Swedish author of the crime thrillers, Henning Mankell on BBC's breakfast TV on Friday. Mankell promptly announced that he had at last finished writing any more stories for the angst-ridden Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02658858373848443540noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363492718837520122.post-51112237065254116932009-11-20T17:03:00.016+00:002009-11-21T09:56:37.207+00:00Maskarna på Carmine Street by Håkan NesserA few months ago, I went to see Håkan Nesser speak about his writing at the Swedish Church in London. He's been my favourite Swedish modern crime writer for a few years and I couldn't wait to meet him and hear him speak. I wrote about it on my other blog.As you may imagine, I was thrilled at the prospect of reading his newest book, The Worms on Carmine Street. This is a loose translation, but itAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02658858373848443540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363492718837520122.post-78208152457203309322009-10-07T15:00:00.001+01:002009-10-07T15:02:31.622+01:00Bitter Bitch by Maria SvelandThis novel by the Swedish author, Maria Sveland, is to be published in English on 25 February 2010, but came out in Sweden in its original title, Bitterfittan, already in 2007. According to The Bookseller, Constable and Robinson bought the rights to the book during the London Bookfair in April with 'a substantial five-figure sum'. It has sold over 200,000 copies in Sweden. The German translationAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02658858373848443540noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363492718837520122.post-85015662028859352312009-08-13T14:24:00.006+01:002009-08-13T17:04:33.026+01:00No excusesI know I've been neglecting this blog.The sad fact is, I've not read any Finnish or Scandinavian literature in ages. Even the Wallander TV series recently broadcast on BBC Four passed me by due to a digital box failure...Plus the annual trip to the Åland Islands just didn't happen this year due to many reasons, one being daughter's op, another being work.Boring, boring I hear you shout. Mere Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02658858373848443540noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363492718837520122.post-10504661185928507472009-06-10T17:14:00.009+01:002009-06-10T17:41:18.140+01:00'To Steal Her Love' by Matti JoensuuThe storyline of this book is chilling. A stranger visits women in their Helsinki flats at night. Nothing happens to them, or has yet, but will it? Tweety, a skillful picker of locks roams the streets and falls in love with one of his night-time women. As we follow him, we realise he's a love-starved youngster, under the spell of his criminally infamous family.Detective Sergeant Timo Harjunpää Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02658858373848443540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363492718837520122.post-39976254543078343182009-05-11T17:56:00.012+01:002009-05-27T15:43:15.352+01:00'Seinää Vasten' (Against the Wall) by Jarkko SipiläThis crime thriller won the 2009 Johtolanka-prize in Finland. It's the 8th in a series of novels following a police department in Helsinki, headed by Chief Inspector Takamäki. The main character is an under cover policeman, Suhonen, who infiltrates a gang of criminals, run from his prison cell by a violent offender, Larsson.I have not read the previous seven books in the series and found the Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02658858373848443540noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363492718837520122.post-4602343013014945042009-04-29T13:20:00.008+01:002009-04-29T13:41:05.249+01:00Strindberg and Love by Eivor MartinusI have been obsessed with Strindberg since I had to study his plays at school in Finland. Having lived in Sweden as a child my language skills were beyond those required by the curriculum and so my Swedish teacher decided that I should not only achieve a good mark in my Swedish Baccalaureate, but should learn something new. She set about encouraging me to write an essay on Strindberg. For a Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02658858373848443540noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363492718837520122.post-20501708126404900922009-04-28T10:12:00.015+01:002009-04-28T11:37:44.908+01:00'Mind's Eye' by Håkan NesserI can't claim I'm new to Nesser's murder mystery world. I've been reading his unusual novels in Swedish for a couple of years and am an enthusiastic fan. At last he's being translated into English, at a rate of one book per year.Mind's Eye is a well constructed story of a serial killer, who almost by accident becomes one. But the first scene is seemingly a domestic affair. After a drunken night, Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02658858373848443540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363492718837520122.post-68026760389942797402009-04-27T15:13:00.006+01:002009-04-27T16:32:58.892+01:00'Ei Kiitos' by Anna-Leena HärkönenThe heroine of 'Ei Kiitos', Heli, is 43 and married to a man with intimacy issues. He lacks sex drive. But Heli has enough to spare, and spends all her time trying to get her man into the sack. Slowly we see that the little time the couple spend in bed (not sleeping) belies deeper, more serious issues in the marriage. He spends his time in front of the pc, while she obsesses about sex. The Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02658858373848443540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6363492718837520122.post-21969345657629440102009-04-19T15:28:00.003+01:002009-04-19T15:56:06.512+01:00New books from FinlandThe main aim of this blog is to comment on latest books published in Finnish. There will be crime, romance and so called literary fiction. Any title suggestions are welcome, please let me know.Occasionally I'll comment on translated fiction from Northern Europe. Again if someone has a burning desire to know about a particular book, just post a comment here and I'll try to accommodate you.A trip Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02658858373848443540noreply@blogger.com1