Memory of Water

A story of growing up, of the power of friendship – and, above all, undying hope in a wrecked world

Emmi Itäranta‘s debut novel Memory of Water (Teemestarin kirja) won the Teos Fantasy and Sci-fi Literary Contest in 2011 and earned her the Kalevi Jäntti Literary Prize for young authors, worth 16.000 euros, in December 2012. She also received the Young Aleksis Kivi Prize in 2013.

The story is set in a drought-ravaged, war-ridden future world where fresh water has become the privilege of a few and tea masters have been keepers of natural springs for centuries, Memory of Water tells the story of seventeen-year-old Noria, set to become the next tea master in her village. When her father dies, she finds herself alone with the dangerous responsibility of guarding a hidden spring that can save lives – or provoke people to kill.

As war spreads into her homeland, Noria’s loyalties are torn between keeping her duty and helping her dearest friend Sanja, whose family can barely survive on their water rations. Together the girls unearth knowledge about the past that has remained buried too long and begin to plan a journey to the Lost Lands, forbidden areas that might hold unexplored water resources.

Yet the web of the military is closing in on Noria’s secret. Sanja disappears mysteriously, and Noria is placed under house arrest. Knowing her own life is in danger, Noria must face a choice in order to secure the hidden information for others.

CROATIAN PRAISE:

„Memory of Water“ is an original novel set in a dystopian world where there is not enough water, raising issues about growing up in the world changed by climate crisis. Although published in 2012, the novel could not be more topical today, and we hope its publication could really help raise awareness about the climate emergency in Croatia, especially among young adults. At the same time, in her beautiful prose, with the story holding reader’s attention, Emmi Itäranta reminds us about the importance of simple things in life, those we so often take for granted. Itäranta’s prose is elegant and poetic with sentences that will resonate with us for a long time: Water doesn’t belong to us, but we belong to water: when it has passed through our fingers and pores and bodies, nothing separates us from earth.

Sandra Ukalović, Editor, VBZ, Croatia