Sally Salminen: Katrina

A forgotten masterpiece written about 80 years ago and was about the first international bestseller ever written by a Finnish author. It tells the life story of a poor sailor’s wife at the Åland archipelago, starting somewhere at the end of 19th century, ending possibly in the late 1920s. Her life is tough and her husband is a braggart who really can’t accomplish much. But Katrina manages. It's a moving, well-written life story of a woman who keeps her self esteem no matter what. It reminds me a little of Stoner by John Williams.

Kertoo yhden naisen elämäntarinan, ei sen enempää tai vähempää.
Katrina syntyy Pohjanmaalle isoon taloon. Sinne käymään tullut merimies, Johann, viekoittelee hänet suurilla puheilla hienosta talosta ja kauniista pihasta täynnä omenapuita. Pikaisen avioliiton ja saaristoon muuton jälkeen paljastuu totuus: ei ole iso taloa, ei ole puutarhaa tai puita. On pahainen hökkeli, torppia huonompi. Johann on tunnettu tyhjänpuhuja, liioittelija, jolle koko kylä nauraa. Pohjalaisena Katrina ei luovuta, vaan käärii hihansa ja yrittää sen minkä ikinä voi pärjätä yksin vieraalla saarella. Johann viettää kesät merellä, mutta on saamaton, käyttää helposti rahansa makeisiin, eikä oikein edes osaa tarttua asioihin tai pärjätä oikeassa elämässä. Katrinalle lankea vastuu talon pidosta, taloudesta ja myöhemmin lapsista. Johann ei juuri aikaiseksi saa ja terveytensäkään ei pian kovin kehuttava ole. Mutta lapsista (jotka ovat keskenään kovin erilaisia luonteeltaan) pidetään huoltaa siinä mitä voidaan ja elämä kulkee latuaan myötä- ja vastoinkäymisissä.
Kirjasta tuli mieleen John Williamsin Stoner. Molemmissa kerrotaan kokonainen elämäntarina ihmisestä, jonka elämä ei aina ole täydellistä, mutta joka ottaa tyynesti vastaan sen mitä elämä eteen asettaa ja enemmän tai vähemmän hyväksyy kaikki koettelemukset, jota eteen tulee.
Kun alun shokista pääsi yli, kirjan juoni tempaisi vahvasti mukaansa. Kirjan kieli oli todella hienoa, soljuvaa, sopivan vanhahtavaa ja sitä oli ilo lukea. Käännös oli hieno ja sujuva – kirjapiirin yksi jäsen oli lukenut vanhan käännöksen, eikä siinäkään ollut mitään valitettavaa eikä suuria eroja uuteen käännökseen verrattuna. Siinä määrin hyvä kirja oli, että lukemista piti hiukan säännöstellä, ettei kirja olisi loppunut liian nopeasti, etenkin kun kirja oli kirjapiirin kirjana. Piirissä kaikki olivat teokseen ihastuneita.

448 s

City of Ruins (Diving Universe #2) by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

The second part of the series was once again read during lunch hours and commutes. This time, the “Boss” and his employees/allies have gone to a planet that is known to have the oldest settlements on that area of the Galaxy. They have heard that something strange has been happening in the caves below the main city: people are dying and disappearing for no real reason. Could there be old and dangerous stealth technology at work somewhere?

When they start to examine the caves, they inadvertently turn on some equipment that is still functioning after centuries. Then an intact, fully functioning, very legendary Dignity Vessel appears in the cave, apparently out of thin air, with a full crew who don’t realize that they have missed the last five thousand years.

This is a very entertaining, exciting, and enjoyable book. I finished the last fifth of it in one go (even though it wasn’t a lunch hour.) The end was “happy” but totally open, and I look forward to the next part. It may take a few months before I get to it, Hugo award reading and all…


303 pp.

Miika Nousiainen: Juurihoito

An extremely easy-to-read book in which a pair of stepbrothers seek out their father through several countries. A mildly amusing feather-light book without any real surprises with an obvious moral message delivered with the subtlety of a sledgehammer about getting along with each other and not exterminating Australian aboriginals.


Mainostoimiston työntekijä joutuu hammaslääkäriin. Siellä hän kiinnittää huomionsa hammaslääkärin sukunimeen, joka on sama kuin hänellä. Sukunimi on hyvin epätavallinen. Osoittautuu, että hammaslääkäri on mainosmiehen puoliveli. Yhteinen isä on molemmat hylännyt heidän olleessaan pieni. Hammaslääkärin pienestä vastustelusta huolimatta miehet lähtevät yhdessä kartoittamaan taustaansa ja matkasta tulee pitkä, aluksi Tukholman kautta Thaimaahan ja lopulta Australiaan asti. Puolisisaruksia sitten löytyy useampia ympäri maailmaa.

Äärimmäisen kevyesti kirjoitettu, kovin tyhjänpäiväinen kirja, johon tuntui olevan päälle liimattuna aika itsestään selviä “ajatuksia” ja opetuksia moukarin hienovaraisuudella välitettynä ihmisten samanlaisuudesta ympäri maailmaa. Kevyttä lukemista, jonka toisaalta olisi kyllä voinut jättää ilman mitään tunnonvaivoja keskenkin melkein millä kohtaa tahansa, loppuun tuli kuitenkin luettua ilman mitään suuria yllätyksiä missään vaiheessa.

332 s.

My Hugo award votes 2019 part 1: short stories

All six nominated short stories were excellent this year, much better than last year. Almost all are well worthy of the award (and are vastly better than a few recent winners). The writing was good in all of them, and the plot was very engaging in most. A fable-like style was apparently a popular trend this year. Finding the last two stories (and their order) wasn’t very hard, and after some thought, the order of the rest was pretty self-evident, also.

“The Court Magician” by Sarah Pinsker (Lightspeed, January 2018)
A skillful magician who doesn’t believe in magic a drafted to be the court magician. It seems that he has gained skill for real magic at the same time. The king sometimes has a request – he usually hopes that something goes away. The magician is able to fulfill that request – at a cost. He always loses something valuable, starting with his left little finger. The magician always wonders how the trick works. Several years, several lost body parts, and several lost loved material things later, the magician is old and tired. A well-told fable-like darkish story.


“The Rose MacGregor Drinking and Admiration Society” by T. Kingfisher (Uncanny Magazine 25, November-December 2018)
Fairies, elves, selkies and other magical [male] creatures meet for a beer and reminisce about a woman who was special and didn’t fall for them, but rather they all fell for her until she tossed them away like an empty shell. A fine, warmly humorous story.

“The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington” by P. Djèlí Clark (Fireside Magazine, February 2018)
A story about George Washington's teeth/dentures. Short stories that grow more and more fantastic and magical – and all teeth have some effect. Short episodes with poetic language.

“STET” by Sarah Gailey (Fireside Magazine, October 2018)
An autonomous car has apparently run over a child. A mother has written an essay concerning the “autonomous conscience” with some very personal and even bitter touches. A short piece that isn’t exactly a “story”, but is fairly good anyway.

“The Tale of the Three Beautiful Raptor Sisters, and the Prince Who Was Made of Meat” by Brooke Bolander (Uncanny Magazine 23, July-August 2018)
An intelligent raptor is the youngest of three sisters. When the Prince comes to their realm, she (as the youngest) must find who he is and why he has arrived. After she eats his horse, she isn’t hungry, and doesn’t eat the Price straight away. As she is curious, she joins the Prince and goes to the town with him. There she is ultimately betrayed, but as she has gained a friend, not everything is lost. A nice story that is written in a nice fairy tale-like language. Woman power (human and otherwise) rules!

“A Witch’s Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies” by Alix E. Harrow (Apex Magazine, February 2018)
A librarian (who is also a benevolent witch) notices a lonely, awkward boy who is apparently in foster care. He seems to be interested in books about getting away from this world. She is able to sense which books he needs, up to the last one. A well-written story with beautiful language and mood.


My voting order will be:

1. “The Court Magician” by Sarah Pinsker (Lightspeed, January 2018)
2. “The Tale of the Three Beautiful Raptor Sisters, and the Prince Who Was Made of Meat” by Brooke Bolander (Uncanny Magazine 23, July-August 2018)
3. A Witch’s Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies” by Alix E. Harrow (Apex Magazine, February 2018)
4. “The Rose MacGregor Drinking and Admiration Society” by T. Kingfisher (Uncanny Magazine 25, November-December 2018)
5. “The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington” by P. Djèlí Clark (Fireside Magazine, February 2018)
6. “STET” by Sarah Gailey (Fireside Magazine, October 2018)

Trail of Lightning (The Sixth World #1) by Rebecca Roanhorse

The first part of a new urban fantasy series (or the book is in the form of an urban fantasy, even though it happens in the countryside). Oceans have risen and everything has gone from bad to worse. Luckily, the American Indian reservations have built (or used magic to build) a wall to protect them from the barbaric hordes outside of their realm. Somehow the catastrophe has also broken the wall between magic and reality, and the Navajo gods (and devils) roam their land. People have received some special powers according to their clans. As it happens, that hero of the book, Maggie Hoskie’s special power is being very good at killing people (and monsters).

I haven’t read many urban fantasy books, but the setup for this one was exactly the same as those I have read: The heroine, Maggie, lives alone, has some magic powers and has been in relation with someone/something very powerful, but that has ended. She meets someone new, and it turns out that the old flame might be involved with something important. I remember at least two books which started in a more or less similar way.

It seems that someone is creating monsters which are very hard to defeat. And the local law enforcement (which is more or less a vigilante gang) doesn’t feel very sympathetic toward a known “killer.” Will Maggie be able to find the culprit while avoiding the local “militia”?

The book was a pretty nice and entertaining read, but it wasn’t special in any way; it rather felt quite ordinary. I really don’t see why it got so many nominations for the Hugo award. The writing was average, the plotting was average – everything felt very average. There was nothing bad, but nothing really memorable either; a solid three-star book in way of reckoning. (A three-star is average. There are a few books every year worthy of four stars. And there are a few books every decade worthy of five stars.)

287 pp.