Pine Bark

2024 Finlandia Prize nominee in Fiction! Sold over 37,000 copies! 

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?

"The tight-wound novel fits many time planes, societal situations, fates, and themes. It is a surprising family story, a tragic female portrait, and a cross-section of the development of Finland. And again, it is shown that Kinnunen is not only a skilled portrayer of near history, but an incredibly skilled storyteller. In PINE BARK he creates contrasts and full stops, tricks the reader and shocks them. The genre of PINE BARK expands. It is not only the miserable realism of recent history, but also an analysis of trauma told in a modern way."  – Suvi Ahola in Helsingin Sanomat newspaper