Escape from Sunset Grove

Minna Lindgren

Original title: Ehtoolehdon pakolaiset

Author: Minna Lindgren

Published: 2014

Publisher: Teos

Genres: Literary Fiction, Humor

Pages: 256

Part of a series: Sunset Grove trilogy

Reading material:

English edition

Sunset Grove retirement home turns into a kind of hell when it is taken over by foreign construction workers cursing fluently in Finnish. The noise is deafening, a hole appears in the wall, things disappear and residents have to use a portable toilet.

Residents Siiri, Irma and Anna-Liisa, all older than 90, decide to move into a shared apartment in the exotic neighbourhood of Hakaniemi. All three have their own habits and quirks, and life together isn’t entirely free of friction. The women also learn about the sad differences in quality with at-home assistance, and are forced to become familiar with terminal care and questions surrounding euthanasia.

Our heroes also can’t help looking into the suspicious plumbing project at Sunset Grove. As the mystery unfolds, they begin to find out that few people in this world have a fully clean record.

The second part in the delightful, aggravating and refreshingly told Twilight Grove Trilogy opens as follows: ‘Siiri Kettunen woke up to terrible noise and thought she was in hell.’ This immediately sparks a smile – as does the rest of the book, although sometimes one can only shake his or her head at the way in which these senior citizens are treated.

- The literature blog Rakkaudesta kirjoihin (“For The Love of Books”), Finland

Download reading materials

Rights sold:
FINLAND: Teos (orig.)

CZECH REPUBLIC: XYZ
DENMARK: ABC Forlag
GREECE: Enalios
HUNGARY: Kossuth
ITALY: Marsilio
LATVIA: Petergailis
SLOVAKIA: Albatros Media Slovakia s.r.o.
SPAIN: Santillana
SWEDEN: Norstedts
WORLD ENGLISH: Pan Macmillan

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About author

Minna Lindgren

Minna Lindgren (b. 1963) is a freelance journalist and columnist known for her whimsical writing style and fearless approach to topics as strange as opera and death. In addition to novels, she has authored nonfiction books on classical music. In 2009, Lindgren won the Bonnier Journalism Prize for her article entitled “Father’s Death” (“Isän kuolema”).

Lindgren is best known for the Sunset Grove trilogy, which has been sold to 18 territories, and the final part, The End of Sunset Grove, was nominated for the International Dublin Literature Award in 2019. She has also written four standalone novels and a non-fiction book about the history of opera.

Minna Lindgren’s books have been critical and commercial successes, in Finland and internationally.

Bibliography


2020, Literary Fiction, Humor

Minna Lindgren

Hope Never Dies


2019, Literary Fiction, Humor

Minna Lindgren

A Far, Far Love


2018, Literary Fiction, Humor

Minna Lindgren

Angry Widow


2015, Literary Fiction, Humor

Minna Lindgren

The End of Sunset Grove


2014, Literary Fiction, Humor

Minna Lindgren

Escape from Sunset Grove


2013, Literary Fiction, Humor

Minna Lindgren

Death in Sunset Grove