Breaking news! Chinese rights sold for Johanna Sinisalo’s “Finnish Weird” novel THE CORE OF THE SUN!

We are thrilled to announce a Chinese sale for Johanna Sinisalo’s classic novel of Finnish Weird, THE CORE OF THE SUN! Citic Press has acquired Chinese simplified rights to this international bestseller, published originally in 2013 in Finland, and in 2016 in the US by Grove Atlantic, and also in Germany by Klett-Cotta, in Spain by Roca,  in Denmark by Jensen & Dalgaard, in Hungary by Metropolis Media, in Turkey by Ithaki Yayinlari, and Latvia by Petergailis. Join the success! The deal was closed by Elina Ahlback at Elina Ahlback Literary Agency.

The Chinese publisher Citic Press loves the book:

“Such a clever and imaginative work! When a society lost its freedom, eating spicy food became a form of resistance. The seemingly trivial things in real life have become the best expression of people’s resistance under high pressure. Chili worship, smuggling, gratitude, and the superpower given by chili…… Great creativity has shown by the delicate structure.” — Citic Press, China

From the queen of “Finnish weird,” a captivating and witty speculative satire of a Handmaid’s Tale-esque welfare state where women are either breeders or outcasts, addicts chase the elusive high of super-hot chili peppers, and one woman is searching for her missing sister. The Core of the Sun has received excellent praise around the world:

“Hailed for being “Finnish weird,” this read from Finnish speculative fiction superstar Johanna Sinisalo will especially delight fans of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale.”  – Bustle.com, USA

“An intoxicating book, sizzling to look at and as spicy as a hot pepper.” —Weltexpress, Germany

“One can read this with joy and docility as an exotic thriller. But it can also be seen as a call to resistance” – Anne-Françoise Hivert, Libération, France

“Written with wit and grace—Sinisalo describes depression as “a smooth-walled cavity, an open, echoing cave with a darkness living in it deeper than the space between the stars”—the novel maintains an impressive grasp on plot and suspense, easily luring the reader into taking its characters, politics, and striking story to heart.” – Kirkus Starred Review, USA

Download the English PDF fo THE CORE OF THE SUN here!

The Core of the Sun

Johanna Sinisalo

Set in an alternative historical present, in a “eusistocracy”—an extreme welfare state—that holds public health and social stability above all else, The Core of the Sun follows a young woman whose growing addiction to illegal chili peppers leads her on an adventure into a world where love, sex, and free will are all controlled by the state.

The Eusistocratic Republic of Finland has bred a new human sub-species of receptive, submissive women, called eloi, for sex and procreation, while intelligent, independent women are relegated to menial labor and sterilized. How did Finland turn into the North Korea of Europe? Johanna Sinisalo’s tautly told story of fight and flight is also a feisty, between-the-lines social polemic—a witty, inventive, and fiendishly engaging read.