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Hanna-Riikka Kuisma

Original title: Korvaushoito

Author: Hanna-Riikka Kuisma

Published: 2024

Publisher: Like

Genre: Literary Fiction

Pages: 348

Reading material:

English synopsis

Finnish edition

"TREATMENT is a very, very refreshing and meaningful read in today's Finnish literary scene. (-) A novel like this reminds us of the importance literature can have when it offers a view into the unknown and increases our understanding of life." - Savon Sanomat

✓ 2024 Finlandia Prize nominee in Fiction!

✓ Sold 4,000 copies!

✓ "Trainspotting" meets "Requiem for a Dream".

✓ Hanna-Riikka Kuisma has received both the Satakunta Arts Council's Art Prize and the Nortamo Prize for Literature, and her previous novel HIGH-RISE was nominated the 2020 Finlandia Prize in Fiction.

A man's life is shaken up when he hears news of his little sister, who disappeared decades ago. Will painful memories drag him back to the ruthless drug world of an industrial city, or will he manage to hold on to the new life he has worked so hard to build?

The novel, which takes place in two time frames, is an unstoppably realistic deep dive into the world of addiction, the shadows of our society and the stages of drug policy from the 1990s to the present day.

This work impressively depicts the protagonist's internal confusion over the span of a few days. The view shifts from the present to the past, playing with the depiction of time to present a wide range of what kind of human trajectories could be hidden behind statistics. The gallery of characters is both recognisable and new in its humanity. The work's relationship to its subject is analytical and empathetic.

The 2024 FINLANDIA PRIZE JURY

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Rights sold:
FINLAND: Like (orig.)

About author

Hanna-Riikka Kuisma

Hanna-Riikka Kuisma (b. 1978) is a Pori-based writer, art critic and columnist. Kuisma is known for exploring the darkness of the human mind and our contemporary society. She has published seven novels and a collection of short stories. Her latest novel TREATMENT was nominated for the 2024 Finlandia Prize in Fiction.

Kuisma's fifth novel, HIGH RISE, was nominated for the Finlandia Prize for Fiction in 2019, and in the same year she was awarded the Satakunta Arts Council's Art Prize. In 2021, she was awarded the Nortamo Prize for Literature.

Kuisma's debut collection of short stories, Elinkautinen, was published in 2005. Since then, she has published the novels Snake's Nest, Heart Shadow, White Light, Fifth Season, Apartment House, Guilty and Reparative Care. The Fifth Season was nominated for the Tiiliskivi Literary Prize.

The blackly intense atmosphere and surgical precision of Kuisma's works are counterbalanced by colourful visuals and poetic language. Her literary contemporaries include Juha Seppälä, Asko Sahlberg and Hanna Marjut Marttila.

Bibliography


2024, Literary Fiction

Hanna-Riikka Kuisma

Treatment


2019, Literary Fiction

Hanna-Riikka Kuisma

High-Rise