Original title: Järjettömiä asioita
Author: Saara Turunen
Published: 2021
Publisher: Tammi
Genre: Literary Fiction
Pages: 340
Reading material
Long English sample, synopsis
Autofictive story of love, death and life between two countries. Turunen’s funny, witty and melancholic voice examines the contradiction of sense and sensibility.
What if you are in love with a good man – a man you have always wanted to fall in love with? But what if this man lives in one country and you in another? Should you be sensible and leave the man to be free and independent? Or should you follow your heart, burn the bridges behind, and go after him?
The narrator travels to Barcelona to study theatre. After a few weeks she falls in love with a local man. Thus begins an intensive relationship that tears her between two countries and two cultures. She learns that relationships are between two individuals who have their own ways of expressing love to others and to themselves.
Turunen’s novel paints a relatable picture of relationships, breakups and the constant battle between fear and love. It is a beautiful picture of a woman growing up and trying to balance between social expectations, commitment and freedom.
PRAISE:
"Even though love is complicated, it is never irrational. This, and other ideas Turunen carefully depicts with her lovable style that pays attention even to the smallest of details."
- Helsingin Sanomat newspaper 17.3.
"Like Saga Noren dropped in the middle of Los Serranos!" - Etelä-Suomen Sanomat newspaper 17.3.
"In a short time Turunen has become the most interesting contemporary Finnish writer." - Ilta-Sanomat newspaper 17.3.
"I love the way Turunen writes about seemingly mundane details, but they actually represent structures or pain points of the society. Her language is straightforward, and the humor is seen in the contrasts of what is said and what happens. " - Turun Sanomat newspaper 17.3.We are honored to be the first foreign publishers of this masterly Work by Saara Turunen. We believe that its subject is a matter of great relevance in the face of the modern life-style and the readers will relate with and feel for the main heroine.
-Ieva Savukynaitė-Dubicka, BALTO, Lithuania