2024

Click the fleuron ❧ to read the full review.

• ⭐ Älä jätä hyvästejä by Han Kang, translated by Taru Salminen (English title: We Do Not Part). A woman and her friend explore the Jeju massacre. Heavy topic, beautiful writing.
• Vallan linnakkeen viimeinen taisto by Marko Junkkari. On the battle over the ownership of the insurance company Pohjola in the 1990s and early 2000s. ❧
• Alistuminen by Michel Houellebecq (English title: Submission). A professor of French literature ponders the French politics and has a relationship with a young student.
• Never Split The Difference by Chris Voss. A guide book on how to negotiate. For me the biggest benefit is getting a “permission” to negotiate in the first place.
• Between Two Sounds by Joonas Sidre, translated by Adam Cullen. A graphic novel about the life and music of Arvo Pärt.
• Teppo joutuu lahtiin by Jaakko Yli-Juonikas. In the style of an overlong boomer Facebook post.
• Jääasema KOOMA by Jaakko Yli-Juonikas. The weirdness continues. This one has puzzling structure (heh heh).
• Mitä uudet Galgalim-silmäni näkivätkään by Jaakko Yli-Juonikas. Weird fiction masquerading as a play.
• Tahdon murskatappio by Jaakko Yli-Juonikas. Weird fiction masquerading as a young adult book. Yli-Juonikas is known for experimental literature, but this one was fairly normal.
• Pussikaljaromaani by Mikko Rimminen. Three good-for-nothings spend a day in Kallio, Helsinki. ❧
• Yhdellä meistä on kokemus epäasiallisesta kohtelusta by Irene Kajo. A story about sexual abuse at the Theatre Academy in Helsinki. Opposite of fun.
• Yö on viisain by Jaakko Yli-Juonikas. Weird short stories. They remind me of Harry Salmenniemi’s stories.
• Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells. Murderbot unveils corruption while trying to flee. Entertaining, but maybe not as good as the previous parts in the series.
• Lähdön läheisyys by Jussi Marttila. Private investigator Janatuinen unveils corruption once again.
• Building a Life Worth Living: A Memoir by Marsha M. Linehan. Autobiography of the psychologist who developed dialectical behavior therapy (DBT). They’ve lived an interesting and, at times, hard life.
• The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco, translated by William Weaver. Monks investigate murders while debating the politics of the Catholic Church.
• The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin. A human emissary gets intwined in the politics of an alien world. The big thing about this book is the aliens’ gender system.
• Kuolema on ikuinen by Liu Cixin, translated by Rauno Sainio (English title: Death's End). The attempts of the humankind to survive continue. Reminds me of Seveneves by Neal Stephenson. The gender thing is weird, not in a good way.
• Elolliset by Iida Turpeinen. Historical fiction on the discovery and the demise of Steller’s sea cow. A great topic, but the story is told in a bit too wacky way for my taste.
• ⭐ Tehanu by Ursula K. Le Guin. More mature than the earlier parts of the Earthsea Cycle.
• ⭐ Raukoilla rajoilla by Markku Eskelinen. On the history of Finnish prose literature. Iconoclastic. Super interesting.
• The Dark Forest by Liu Cixin, translated by Joel Martinsen. An intriguing plan to save the world.
• Varieties of Disturbance by Lydia Davis. Short stories. Didn’t hit me quite as hard as Our Strangers.
• ⭐ Our Strangers by Lydia Davis. Really quite short stories observing everyday life at home, at the airport, and elsewhere. ❧
• Villa Alpha by Arsi Alenius. A novel on being young again. ❧
• Alkoholi by Mika Lietzen. A graphic novel about alcoholism. ❧
• ⭐ Hello, Stranger by Will Buckingham. On strangers, hospitality, travel. The writing style is so cozy. ❧
• Ruukku rubiiniviiniä ja muita runoja by Omar Khayyám, translated by Jaakko Hämeen-Anttila. Quatrains about wine and debauchery. Funny. ❧
• ⭐ Katsotaanhan puhelimiakin by Arsi Alenius. A young literary critic is angry about how literature has lost its social cachet. ❧