Loukko by 
We are delighted to share that Piemme has pre-empted the Italian rights for Sirpa Kähkönen’s MARIUS! This is the fourth deal for this astonishing novel from the Finlandia Prize-winning author. The deal was closed by Noora Al-Ani at Ahlbäck Agency.
Marius is a lyrical, introspective novel about Lili, a sixty-year-old poet and artist who spends a late summer day in her garden cottage, reflecting on love, desire, ageing and the passage of time. As she waits and hopes for a final visit from Marius, a much younger French man who has awakened unexpected feelings in her, memories of past relationships and life-defining moments surface.
REQUEST MATERIALS FOR MARIUS HERE
Praise for the book:
“Kähkönen’s language is rich and sensuous. The idea of the limited nature of time runs throughout the novel. The vivid colors of summer in particular serve as a reminder of the transience of all living things. [–] Marius is not a conventional love story. Love makes the characters’ lives both meaningful and painful at the same time. Even though the feelings have faded and the people are gone, past relationships continue to shape how Lili sees herself and the life she has left to live.”
– Jari Olavi Hiltunen, Satakunnan Kansa newspaper
“It is once again a completely new Kähkönen, gentler and bolder than ever, yet in its beautiful, lucid language and its evocation of memories, unmistakably Kähkönen. [–] Kähkönen portrays ageing with extraordinary tenderness and beauty. [–] The novel’s vision of the world is so compassionate that Kähkönen seems to have made the nurturing of light an important question in her work as a writer, too. Marius is simply a gem.”
– Suomen Kuvalehti
Rights sold:
FINLAND: Siltala (orig.)
GERMANY: Blessing Verlag (PRH Germany)
ITALY: Piemme
NETHERLANDS: Ambo|Anthos
SWEDEN: Lind & Co
Reading material:
English sample and full English draft translation, English synopsis, Finnish edition
