The Red Book of Farewells

There’s a nimble and fluid quality to the prose that makes the book deeply pleasurable to read. Plaudits are due here to the translator, Mia Spangenberg – Chris Power * Observer *
This is a story with a sense of both the ridiculous and the serious. Told in clear prose, it playfully shifts between third and first person as Saisio recounts her memories then analyses them. This enchanting series deserves to become a modern classic – John Self * Guardian *
The Finnish super­star finally com­ing to our shelves … As Pirkko Saisio’s books show us, life writ­ing is every bit as much about storytelling as writ­ing fic­tion is. Exper­i­ence is noth­ing if it’s not turned into words on the page … I found myself admir­ing Saisio’s writ­ing, ener­get­ic­ally grap­pling with it, laugh­ing with it – Lucy Scholes * Daily Telegraph *

Pirkko Saisio (Author)

Pirkko Saisio (born 1949) is one of Finland’s most celebrated writers, as well as an actor and theatre director. The author of numerous novels, plays, and scripts for film and television, Saisio has been nominated for the Finlandia Prize seven times, winning it in 2003. She has, among other awards, received the Aleksis Kivi Prize and the State Literature Award. Lowest Common Denominator is the first volume in her Helsinki trilogy, followed by Backlight and The Red Book of Farewells.

Mia Spangenberg (Translator)

Mia Spangenberg translates from Finnish, Swedish, and German. She is the winner of the Nadia Christensen Prize for her translation of Lowest Common Denominator.

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