Riina Katajavuori’s The Ladies of Seven Brothers (Wenla Männistö, Tammi 2014) continues to draw rave reviews from critics, many of whom are calling it one of the year’s best Finnish novels. Reviews are also pouring in from Finland’s active literary blogger community.

Several adaptations of The Ladies of Seven Brothers, including a stage version, are in the works.

Inspired by Finland’s most famous literary work, Aleksis Kivi’s Seven Brothers (1870), The Ladies of Seven Brothers is a satirical and spirited depiction of youth, motherhood, and of growing up in modern-day Helsinki.

Recent praise for The Ladies of Seven Brothers:

“Reading this book was a mind-blowing experience. Everything in it was so magnificent and so successfully executed that I think I read the entire book with a silly smile of infatuation on my face…there’s a lot I would like to say about this book, but I can’t find words big enough. This is perfect.”
– Kirjojen keskellä (“Surrounded by Books”) literature blog, Finland

“Katajavuori’s book has been called ‘a delicious update on a classic’ – and it truly is. The Ladies of Seven Brothers is a refreshing read for both young people and adults. Whether or not one is familiar with Kivi’s famous Jukola brothers doesn’t really matter.”
– Kirjat kertovat (“Books Tell”) literature blog, Finland

“An audacious and hilarious update on Seven Brothers that should also be of interest to young readers.”
– Implisiittinen lukija (“The Implicit Reader”) literature blog, Finland

“[Katajavuori] has done the same thing as Kivi in his time: he used the same unrefined language that ordinary people used, and riled up the literary elite. I giggled happily inside the trap she had set for me.”
– Kyyti library and literature blog, Finland

About the book:

All the guys are crazy about 17-year-old Wenla Männistö, who is whole-heartedly enjoying her youth, playing in a rock band and flirting with the seven slacker brothers next door. Her mother is the practical but enigmatic midwife Marja Männistö, who has raised Wenla on her own.

Bringing her own voice into the narrative is Alli Jukola, the deceased mother of the Jukola brothers, who contemplates the past and watches her boys while lounging on the edge of a cloud. We also hear from straight-talking washer Kajsa Rajamäki and Wenla’s best friend Ansku Seunala, who believes in angels. All the while, the seven brothers of Jukola trade bad jokes in front of the TV and cause mischief in the neighbourhood.

The Ladies of Seven Brothers is a modern-day deconstruction of Finland’s most famous literary work, Aleksis Kivi’s Seven Brothers (1870), told from a female perspective.

RIGHTS SOLD
THE LADIES OF SEVEN BROTHERS (Wenla Männistö)
Original publisher: FINLAND, Tammi

Reading materials
English sample
English synopsis
Finnish edition

Contact: info@ahlbackagency.com

Since its publication in August, Riina Katajavuori’s The Ladies of Seven Brothers (Wenla Männistö, Tammi 2014) has drawn plenty of attention from readers and the media. Helsingin Sanomat, Finland’s largest newspaper, called the novel “a landmark event in Katajavuori’s career and a major breakthrough,” and many critics and bloggers have referred to it as one of the year’s best.

Inspired by Finland’s most famous literary work, Aleksis Kivi’s Seven Brothers (1870), The Ladies of Seven Brothers is a satirical and spirited depiction of youth, motherhood, and of growing up in modern-day Helsinki.

Recent critical praise for The Ladies of Seven Brothers:

“Katajavuori truly gives Seven Brothers a modern-day spin and gives a voice to the women: the awfully wonderful chick, Wenla, whom all of the Jukola boys desire; the mother of the “Juko Bros,” Alli Jukola; as well as sauna attendant Kajsa Rajamäki and Merja Männistö. Katajavuori describes motherhood with great skill, with both gentleness and realism, through the words of Alli Jukola. She shares stories of her life and her sons born from different fathers. A love letter to Aleksis Kivi, to mothers, to sons and to daughters – and to fathers who left.”
– Oma Aika magazine, Finland, editors’ recommendation of the fall’s most interesting books

“Bold and daring…in her depiction of motherhood Katajavuori is achingly perceptive. The book shows these boys growing into men through the eyes of their deceased mother Alli Jukola. [Their growth is] so closely observed that a reader is both fearful and aware that she is looking at her own future…this is also a playful book. It depicts darkness underneath a light surface, asks big questions and expresses rambunctious joy.”
– Ilselä Literature Blog, Finland

Book of the Week
– Radio Helsinki, October 7th, 2014

“One of this year’s surprises. A valiant, dark horse. Katajavuori’s storytelling overflows, whirls and bubbles. It’s hilariously full of life while crystallizing something essential about womanhood and motherhood. Although the seven Jukola brothers hog the spotlight, The Ladies of Seven Brothers is, above all, a women’s story. An unbelievable ride! Highly recommended!”
– Rakkaudesta kirjoihin (“For the Love of Books”) literature blog, Finland

“A fine, fine book.”
– Kirjallisia (“Literary”) blog, Finland

“The Ladies of Seven Brothers really spoke to me. I loved the colourful and expressive language that felt exactly true to our current times.”
– Kirjakko ruispellossa (“A Bookworm in the Rye”) literature blog, Finland

In an article in Helsingin Sanomat, Katajavuori described the challenges of deconstructing Finland’s most seminal classic:

“I was afraid. In this country it would probably be easier to write a new interpretation of Macbeth. Ask a passerby anywhere in Finland what he or she deems to be the Great Finnish Novel, and that person would most likely say Seven Brothers. I myself mentioned it when an international colleague asked which Finnish novel everyone should read. After all, Kivi’s book describes Finnishness: the forest, the misadventures, the seasons….however, I don’t understand Kivi’s female ideal. If I did, I wouldn’t have been able to write The Ladies of Seven Brothers.”
– Riina Katajavuori, Helsingin sanomat newspaper, Finland

About the book:

All the guys are crazy about 17-year-old Wenla Männistö, who is whole-heartedly enjoying her youth. Her mother is the practical but enigmatic midwife Marja Männistö. Alli Jukola, the mother of seven, contemplates the past while lounging on the edge of a cloud. We also hear from straight-talking washer Kajsa Rajamäki and Ansku Seunala, who believes in angels. All the while, the seven slacker brothers of Jukola trade bad jokes in front of the TV. It’s a modern-day deconstruction of Finland’s most famous literary work, Aleksis Kivi’s Seven Brothers (1870), told from a female perspective.

RIGHTS SOLD
THE LADIES OF SEVEN BROTHERS (Wenla Männistö)
Original publisher: FINLAND, Tammi

Reading materials
English sample
English synopsis
Finnish edition

Contact: info@ahlbackagency.com

Award-winning poet and author Riina Katajavuori‘s latest novel, The Ladies of Seven Brothers (Wenla Männistö, Tammi 2014) has quickly become one of this autumn’s most talked-about Finnish literary events.

The Ladies of Seven Brothers is a humorous, modern-day deconstruction of what is considered to be the most important novel in Finnish history: Aleksis Kivi’s Seven Brothers (1870). Unlike Kivi, whose book focused on the seven Jukola brothers, Katajavuori’s story puts the spotlight on Kivi’s female characters. However, in spite of its many clever allusions, The Ladies of Seven Brothers doesn’t require knowledge of Kivi’s original work: it works both as a satirical portrait of Helsinki life in 2014 and a spirited family fable.

Praise for The Ladies of Seven Brothers:

“[The Ladies of Seven Brothers] is a delicious update on a classic and a delightful vision of our time…This is a landmark event in Katajavuori’s career, and a major breakthrough; she can now be counted among our nation’s great authors.“
– Helsingin sanomat newspaper, Finland

“A simultaneously wild and wise version of Aleksis Kivi’s Seven Brothers.”
– Ilkka newspaper, Finland

“[The dialogue-driven] format is interesting and current, and Katajavuori shines in conveying different kinds of speech.”
– Savon sanomat newspaper, Finland

“[Katajavuori has given] Seven Brothers a modern-day treatment. There are drugs and teen pregnancies, band practices and TV shows about war. To my embarrassment I have to admit that I have never read Seven Brothers, so I don’t really have a basis on what happened in the original book. But I dare to say that this works better for someone like me than the original. After all, I’m a modern girl.”
– Lukutoukan kulttuuriblogi (“Bookworm’s Culture Blog”), Finland

About the book:

All the guys are crazy about 17-year-old Wenla Männistö, who is whole-heartedly enjoying her youth. Her mother is the practical but enigmatic midwife Marja Männistö. Alli Jukola, the mother of seven, contemplates the past while lounging on the edge of a cloud. We also hear from straight-talking washer Kajsa Rajamäki and Ansku Seunala, who believes in angels. All the while, the seven slacker brothers of Jukola trade bad jokes in front of the TV.

RIGHTS SOLD
THE LADIES OF SEVEN BROTHERS (Wenla Männistö)
Original publisher: FINLAND, Tammi

Reading materials
English synopsis
Finnish edition
English sample available soon!

Contact: info@ahlbackagency.com