Land of Snow and Ashes
by Petra Rautiainen
Description
In this powerful debut novel, the beauty of the Arctic nature in Lapland contrasts with the brutal actions conducted both at a secret Nazi prison camp during the Second World War and against the indigenous Sámi people after the war. These secrets are buried deep, while inconceivable destinies drive the narration, resulting in an intoxicating read.
The dual storyline of LAND OF SNOW AND ASHES takes place in Northern Finland, in Lapland, altering between two points in time:
In 1944, a young Finnish soldier is sent to work as interpreter at a secret prison camp ran by the Nazis. What we get to read is his diary, taking us to one the darkest time periods in human history.
In the late 1940’s, Inkeri, reporter and photographer from the south, arrives to write about the reconstruction of the Enontekiö town in Lapland after the war. She befriends a young Sámi girl and learns about the ongoing racial profiling of the indigenous Sámi people. She also has a personal agenda: to find out what happened to her husband who never returned from the war. The more Inkeri gets to know her young tenant Olavi – who is also originally from the south but has lingered in Lapland after the war ended – the more convinced she becomes that he is hiding something concerning her husband’s destiny.
Underneath the skies of polar night and midnight sun, dark secrets begin to unfold.
More Information
Rights Information
Rights sold to:
Pushkin Press (UK & Australia)
Suhrkamp (Germany)
Marsilio Editori (Italy, two-book deal),
Meridiaan Uitgeverij (The Netherlands, two-book deal)
Gyldendal Norsk (Norway, two-book deal)
Modtryk (Denmark, two-book deal)
Marketing Information
LAND OF SNOW AND ASHES is a stunning literary debut with huge commercial potential where the web of competing for nationalistic and ethnic motivations is depicted for the first time in Finnish literature.
The debut novel was ranked as no. 5 on the bestselling list for August 2020 – an astonishing achievement for a debut.
It also made headlines as the first Finnish debut novel where English translation rights have been sold before publication, highlighted by both The Bookseller and Publishing Perspectives.
Endorsements
"Petra Rautiainen's novel is not only a fascinating story but also an example on how a work of fiction can be an important source of information on the history of indigenous peoples and other minorities. Getting to know the central characters Piera and Bigga-Marja opens a window into our Sámi culture and hopefully sparks an interest in the reader to find out more about the painful history of the indigenous people of Sámi in Finland."
-Pirita Näkkäläjärvi, Member of Sámi Parliament in Finland, Chair of Cultural Committee
"When we at Otava first read the manuscript for Petra Rautiainen’s debut novel, it was clear we had a real gem in our hands. The novel is the work of an exceptional literary talent, written in a powerful prose that reflects the rugged beauty of the novel’s arctic setting. At the same time, the novel reads like a thriller, exploring the dark secrets of WWII prison camps in Finnish Lapland. It is this rare combination of high literary quality and strong commercial appeal that makes Petra Rautiainen’s novel quite simply a dream come true for a publisher."
- Antti Kasper, Publisher, Otava Publishing Company
"Touching and intense, Land of Snow and Ashes is one of those books you feel so lucky to have in your hands. The writing is beautiful, the structure is perfect, the setting so interesting and well researched, and the way how the story develops through a dual storyline captivating. It creates a growing suspense that leads to a great coup de théâtre. Moreover, the landscape and nature descriptions are so vivid and strong, that you feel like everything you’re reading about is happening right now in your room."
- Francesca Varotto, Marsilio Editori (Gruppo Feltrinelli)
"I’m thrilled to have acquired Land of Snow and Ashes, a novel that opens a whole new window on an otherwise familiar chapter of history. Just as importantly, it does so by telling a gripping story and with fully developed characters."
- Adam Freudenheim, Publisher of Pushkin Press
"The way Petra Rautiainen intertwines Väinö's diary with Inkeri's experience in post-war-Lapland is uniquely crafted. Through her descriptions of war, the madness, all the emotional, tragic and terrifying events are highlighted and feel even closer. Her characters come to life with just a few sentences and she has the talent to reach deep into their hopes and fears, creating an instant immersion into the story."
- Franziska Berninger, Suhrkamp
"A novel that has it all: suspense, love, jealousy, sex and war! It reads like a thriller and at the same time, it is thought-provoking.”
- Anne Louise Morseth-Nordbryhn, Gyldendal Norsk
“The characters and nature are beautifully depicted. The language is sparse, and in its simplicity, it leaves an even greater impression on the reader. The metaphors and the descriptions are impressively clever, and this seemingly lightness of the language makes the novel easy to read considering the severity of the story itself.”
- Nanna Rørdam Knudsen, Modtryk
Reviews
"The combination of drama between the characters, social analysis and the recount of recent history of violence results in a recipe for success. A reader turns the pages at a record pace… The novel is so addictive it challenges its worst competitors - the Internet streaming services."
- Savon Sanomat newspaper, Finland
"A perfectly robust, intense thriller plot. Land of Snow And Ashes describes the complex landscape of the 40’s Lapland ambitiously and beautifully […] This debut novel explores the themes of Sámi culture and colonialism alongside German and Finnish brothers-in-arms."
- Helsingin Sanomat newspaper, Finland
“The addressed matters merge into an exquisite, thrilling, shocking and touching story […] this suspense-packed page-turner leads to an unexpected ending. This is a superb book.”
-Jorman lukunurkka blog 17.8.2020
"The book is uncomfortable. I thank the author for being bold and writing about how things have actually been. The book doesn’t explain, it shows. Land of Snow and Ashes is beautiful, touching, and above all a really important book. I hope that as many as possible can get their hands on this book."
-Emmi Nuorgam/ Lukuretriitti (@lukuretriitti)
"In Land of Snow and Ashes, criticism is heard via Inkeri’s acquaintances Piera and Bigga-Marja. Their dialogue is sometimes in Sámi, untranslated. The Sámi have seldom (if ever?) been portrayed in Finnish fiction in such an interactive way. Small comments explaining Sámi culture or a reference to “at these latitudes” fit well into the mouths of the narrator and protagonist from the south. Cultural ownership has been a point of discussion in recent years, and one could think the most sensitive advocates might mistake the combination of the Finnish writer and Sámi depiction as colonial. But if an author can’t write like this about other people, then there is no way at all."
- Outi Hytönen, Parnasso Magazine, Finland
Author Biography
Petra Rautiainen was born in 1988 in a small town in Eastern Finland. She has a Master’s degree in History and Cultural Studies, and is currently working on her doctoral theses on representations of the Sámi people in the Finnish media.
Since childhood, Petra has been inspired by the barren nature of the Arctic areas. Hiking is her passion – she has hiked a lot in Lapland, but also in Iceland, Scotland and on the Faroe Islands.
Petra is interested in equality issues, in minorities and their culture as well as in historic representations of difference that still influence our norms and ideas today.
She is currently writing her second novel the THE MEMORY OF OCEAN.
Rights and Brands
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View all titlesBibliographic Information
- Publisher Otava Publishing Company
- Publication Date August 2020
- Orginal LanguageFinnish
- Publication Country or regionFinland
- FormatHardback
- Pages298
- ReadershipGeneral
- Publish StatusPublished
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