Loukko by 
Original title: Neljäntienristeys
Author: Tommi Kinnunen
Published: 2014
Publisher: WSOY
Genre: Literary Fiction
Pages: 335
Reading material:
English sample and synopsis
Finnish edition
A delicately perceptive novel about people who build their dreams to forbidden heights
A young midwife named Maria arouses suspicion among the villagers. Diligently taking care of difficult childbirths, she finally gains the respect she craves for, but fails to notice that she has become a prisoner of her own longing.
Maria’s daughter Lahja, born out of wedlock, wants to incorporate into her own life all that her mother has rejected as ballast. A refugee returning to the north scorched by war, she yearns for contact in her marriage, while her husband, war hero Onni, wanders the cities, seeking fleeting, forbidden moments of happiness.
Decades later, Kaarina is decorating her mother-in-law Lahja’s house, now devoid of dreams, and wants to tear down what others have built to remain silent.
Where Four Roads Meet is a touching and strong story of tenacious women. The novel is both about being different and of the change of the Finnish society. The altering voices of the narrators of the story make the structure of the novel particularly successful and keep the reader captivated. The writing is beautiful, the description of the protagonists is skillful, and their individual fates are fascinating, the novel is a well-balanced and a refined whole. Where Four Roads Meet is a brilliant and timeless debut novel.
– Thank You for the Book Prize jury
Download reading materials
Rights sold:
FINLAND: WSOY (orig.)
AZERBAIJAN: Agac Publishing House
CHINA: China International Radio Press
DENMARK: Gyldendal/Cicero
ITALY: Edizioni ETS
NORWAY: Pax Forlag
