Finland, 1809. Henrik and Erik are brothers who fought on opposite sides in the war between Sweden and Russia. With peace declared, they both return to their snowed-in farm. But who is the master? Sexual tensions, old grudges, family secrets: all come to a head in this dark and gripping saga. ------- Why Peirene chose to publish this book: 'This is a historical novel in miniature form. It deals in dark passions and delivers as many twists as a 500-page epic. And if that were not enough, each character speaks in a distinct voice and expresses a unique take on reality. I'm thrilled to be publishing a book that is as Finnish as a forest in winter - but that resembles a work from the American South: William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying.' Meike Ziervogel, Publisher

Brothers

Literature & Fiction

Asko Sahlberg

Literary

Peirene Press

Bess and Halland live in a small town, where everyone knows everyone else. When Halland is found murdered in the main square the police encounter only riddles. For Bess bereavement marks the start of a journey that leads her to a reassessment of first friends, then family. ------- Why Peirene chose to publish this book: 'If you like crime you won't be disappointed. The book has all the right ingredients. A murder, a gun, an inspector, suspense. But the story strays far beyond the whodunit norm. In beautifully stark language Pia Juul manages to chart the phases of bereavement. PS Don't skip the quotes.' Meike Ziervogel, Publisher

The Murder of Halland

Pia Juul

A beautiful novella in 50 short chapters and 10 pictures about the life of Bada Shanren, the most influential Chinese painter of all times. In 1626, Bada Shanren is born into the Chinese royal family. When the old Ming Dynasty crumbles, he becomes an artist, committed to capturing the essence of nature with a single brushstroke. Then the rulers of the new Qing Dynasty discover his identity and Bada must feign madness to escape. ------ Why Peirene chose to publish this book: 'Fact and fiction arrive at a perfect union in this exquisite novella. A beautiful story about the quiet determined pursuit of inspiration, this is a charming and uplifting book. After reading it, I looked at the world a little differently.' Meike Ziervogel, Publisher

Sea Of Ink

Richard Weihe

Mussel Feast

Birgit Vanderbeke

Contemporary

1867: a year of devastating famine in Finland. Marja, a farmer's wife from the north, sets off on foot through the snow with her two young children. Their goal: St Petersburg, where people say there is bread. Others are also heading south, just as desperate to survive. Ruuni, a boy she meets, seems trustworthy. But can anyone really help? ------ Why Peirene chose to publish this book: 'Like Cormac McCarthy's The Road, this apocalyptic tale deals with the human will to survive. And let me be honest: There will come a point in this book where you can take no more of the snow-covered desolation. But then the first rays of spring sun appear and our belief in the human spirit revives. A stunning tale.' Meike Ziervogel, Publisher

White Hunger

Ollikainen, Aki, Emily Jeremiah (trans.), and Fleur Jeremiah (trans.)

The Orange Grove

Tremblay, Larry

Dance by the Canal

Kerstin Hensel

The Cut is a commissioned novel responding to Brexit. Published on the first anniversary of the EU referendum on June 23rd 2017, it will be a fictional exploration of the forces that split Britain apart. ===== The Cut is a wound, of course, but it is more than that.Cairo Jukes walks the towpaths of "the cut", the Black Country term for the canals that web this small region of England, the open veins of an old industrial order. And then there is Dudley -a town at the heart of the Black Country - where a young woman runs through the market-place with her clothes on fire. Who she is? Why is she burning? And what part has Cairo played in her life? We follow these two characters across a single day in Brexit-era Britain. ===== 'I want to write this book because, like many people, in the days after the referendum I felt angry. But I quickly realized that my anger was different. I was outraged at a reaction which labelled seventeen and a half million people "stupid" or "racist" or simply lacking (too old, too poor, too far away from London, too white). In The Cut, I want to analyse the complex divisions undermining British society. We've been offered too many answers already, this is a story built on questions.' Anthony Cartwright ===== Why Peirene chose to commission this book:'The result of the EU referendum shocked me. I realized that I had been living in one part of a divided country. What fears - and what hopes - drove my fellow citizens to vote for Brexit? I commissioned Anthony Cartwright to build a fictional bridge between the Britains that opposed each other on referendum day.' Meike Ziervogel

The Cut

Cartwright, Anthony

The literary bestseller that took the Baltics by storm now published for the first time in English. This novel considers the effects of Soviet rule on a single individual. The central character in the story tries to follow her calling as a doctor. But then the state steps in. She is deprived first of her professional future, then of her identity and finally of her relationship with her daughter. Banished to a village in the Latvian countryside, her sense of isolation increases. Will she and her daughter be able to return to Riga when political change begins to stir? 'At first glance this novel depicts a troubled mother-daughter relationship set in the the Soviet-ruled Baltics between 1969 and 1989. Yet just beneath the surface lies something far more positive: the story of three generations of women, and the importance of a grandmother giving her granddaughter what her daughter is unable to provide - love, and the desire for life.' Meike Ziervogel, Peirene Press Publisher

Soviet Milk

Nora Ikstena

Margita Gailitis

An extraordinary piece of international survival literature, joining the likes of Primo Levi and Anne Frank. In 1941, 14-year-old Dalia and her family are deported from their native Lithuania to a labour camp in Siberia. As the strongest member of her family she submits to twelve hours a day of manual labour. At the age of 21, she escapes the gulag and returns to Lithuania. She writes her memories on scraps of paper and buries them in the garden, fearing they might be discovered by the KGB. They are not found until 1991, four years after her death. This is the story Dalia buried. The immediacy of her writing bears witness not only to the suffering she endured but also the hope that sustained her. It is a Lithuanian tale that, like its author, beats the odds to survive. 'There is only one word to describe this book: Extraordinary. It blew me away when I first read it in German translation. Dalia's account goes far beyond a memoir. This is an outstanding piece of literature which should be read by anyone who wishes to understand the Soviet repression.' Meike Ziervogel, Peirene Press Publisher

Shadows On The Tundra

Grinkevičiūtė, Dalia

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Books by Peirene Press