PINE BARK by Tommi Kinnunen nominated for the 2024 Finlandia Prize!

We are very thrilled to announce that PINE BARK, the latest title by acclaimed, award-winning author Tommi Kinnunen, has been nominated for the 2024 Finlandia Prize in Fiction!

Kinnunen’s bestselling novel, which has already sold over 30,000 copies, marks his sixth book and his fourth nomination for Finland’s most prestigious literary award. His works have been translated into 20 languages. and PINE BARK has been acquired by Varrak in Estonia and Shinchosha in Japan.

The jury praised the novel:

The book gives a voice to the forgotten victims of war, women and children, bypassing official war narratives. It describes, in a compact and carefully crafted manner, the impact of traumatic experiences on a person: what cannot be spoken of cannot be escaped; one must build a shield that also becomes a prison. Piece by piece, the work tensely unveils the tragedy that defines the characters’ lives and explores the multifaceted dimensions of the title motif.

Click here to download all materials for PINE BARK.

Finlandia Prize is the most prestigious literary award in Finland, worth 30 000 euros. The winner will be chosen by Golden Globe-nominated actress Alma Pöysti, star of Aki Kaurismäki’s Cannes-winning film Fallen Leaves. The announcement will take place on November 27.

PINE BARK

Tommi Kinnunen

A densely atmospheric and arrestingly written novel about women’s fates in times of war, the difficulty of giving up, and how the proximity of death can change a person

A person cannot return to being who they once were without knowing who they have been.

In 2001, three siblings – Martti and twin sisters Eeva and Marja – meet in a small village in Northern Finland. Their mother Laina, an old woman who has been through the Second World War, is dying and the children have gathered to arrange the funeral. Even though the siblings have always been on good terms, Martti has always felt aloof, the odd man out. All of them reminisce about their childhood, but Martti remembers things slightly differently than the sisters.

As the novel progresses, the readers are transported through the decades and through Laina’s story, culminating in the Soviet partisan attack during the summer of 1944 that irrevocably changed Laina’s life. She has refused to recall the events and, at the same time, has denied her children the opportunity of remembering and recovering. “One can only talk about men’s war, as the women’s war is soundless and forbidden.”

As his mother’s death grows nearer, Martti reaches out to connect with his siblings and attempts to fill in the gaps in the story, but is it already too late?

Publication Info:
Kaarna
WSOY, April 2024, 204 pp.

Rights sold:
FINLAND: WSOY (orig.)
ESTONIA: Varrak
JAPAN: Shinchosha

Reading materials:
English sample and synopsis
German sample
Finnish edition

About author


Tommi Kinnunen

Tommi Kinnunen (1973) was born in Kuusamo in northeastern Finland and currently lives in Turku, where he works as a teacher of Finnish language and literature. His works include novels, opera librettos, short stories, and a non-fiction title on the changes taking place in the Finnish school system.

Kinnunen’s novels give a voice to those whose stories have been kept untold. He made a stellar debut with Where Four Roads Meet (orig. Neljäntienristeys) which was nominated for the Finlandia Prize and won the Young Aleksis Prize in 2015. The following novels The Light Behind the Eyes (orig. Lopotti), The Glass River (orig. Pintti), and Defiance (orig. Ei kertonut katuvansa) have been both critical and commercial successes. His books have been translated into 20 languages.

During his spare time, Kinnunen likes to refurbish old buildings.

Bibliography


2024, Literary Fiction

Pine Bark

Tommi Kinnunen


2022, Literary Fiction

Dark Moons

Tommi Kinnunen


2020, Literary Fiction

Defiance

Tommi Kinnunen


2018, Literary Fiction

The Glass River

Tommi Kinnunen


2016, Literary Fiction

The Light Behind the Eyes

Tommi Kinnunen


2014, Literary Fiction

Where Four Roads Meet

Tommi Kinnunen