In August 1989 a young man goes on a cruise boat with his friends and disappears.  The only thing that returns is a yellow backpack and endless sorrow. The tragedy changes the lives of the whole family. Uncertainty of the brother’s fate makes his little sister ask even years later, what happened on that night on M/S Fennia?

The sister, grown up with the trauma, returns to the memories of the past with hope to finally be able to say goodbye.

#brothersandsisters #familytragedy #loss #memories #truestory #longing #sea #disappearance

Ask for the English materials here.

“Blackbird is beautiful and whole, and I couldn’t read even a page without tears in my eyes.”
– Helsingin Sanomat newspaper

“Blackbird is a serene and beautiful story. Nousiainen writes fantastically, the text is full of sharp notions and fragile emotions. Intimate, gentle and bittersweet.”
– Kirjaluotsi blog

“Nousiainen manages to describe a private loss in way it feel like universal sorrow. There’s something very personal, but something very familiar in it.”
– Etelä-Suomen Sanomat newspaper

“This minimalistic story has magical feeling as our days are filled with noise, business and constant flow of information. It feels revolutionary. Calmly, gently and every moment and sentence at a time it paints a picture of one life, a picture of all lives.”
– Helmi Kekkonen blog

INKA NOUSIAINEN is an award-winning author from Helsinki who writes fiction, children’s books and lyrics for different musicians. She was only 17 years old when her first novel Kivienkeli was published and won the prestigious Topelius Prize in 1994.

She has also been awarded Savonia Award in 1997, the City of Tampere Literature Award in 2012, the Tiiliskivi-prize in 2016, and was nominated for the Nordic Council’s Children’s Literature Award 2017.