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[ excerpt ]
Finnish writing
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the heaven-bearer
by Riikka Pelo
translated from the Finnish
Riikka Pelo's debut novel published in 2006, The Heaven-Bearer tells the story of Vendla, a young girl who
is seeking a language of her own to escape the stifling religious community she finds herself in. The girl's grandmother
is waiting for the Apocalypse while relying on the strength of hymns and gospel to raise her granddaughter on a remote
Finnish farm at the end of the 1960s. Vendla learns that there are names that should not be uttered and songs that
should not be sung, and it is her words that move the narrative: Big-Road, Forest-on-the-Other-Side,
Land-of-Two-Rivers, and the Village where the religious people live. A bit further away is the Heaven Vendla's
grandmother longs for and The Promised Land where a war is being waged. In Vendla's imagination there is also a Land of
Skirts whose way is marked by the skirts and shoes of Vendla's disgraced teenage mother. Vendla discovers she
still bears the stamp of her mother's and grandmother's sins.
When tragic events unfold in the village — three children disappear by the river — the inhabitants
wake from their stupor. As believers and non-believers alike search the river, they are forced to contemplate
their sacrifices and their faith in God — and in each other.
Both lyrical and menacing, The Heaven-Bearer skillfully captures the mysticism found only in children.
Praise:
The Heaven-Bearer is a complete book: a vigorous novel and exciting as a
detective story. |
—Raimo Hautanen, Pohjalainen
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Riikka Pelo's language is short and to the point but loaded with sensory experiences. [...] Few debut novels can
claim to be as stirring an experience as The Heaven-Bearer. |
— Juuso Janhunen, Turun Ylioppilaslehti
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Pelo's prose is exceptionally lyrical and melodic. |
— Kaisu Mikkola, Parnasso
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It is no surprise that with its rich thematics and brilliant language The Heaven-Bearer has received so
many award nominations. |
— Raija Hakala, Pohjolan Sanomat
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The narrative flits effortlessly through the realms of fairy tale, reality, and imagination. |
— Riitta Vaismaa, Kiiltomato.net
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ISBN 978 80 86264 34 9
softcover with flaps
fiction / novel
publication date: 2009
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