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A mesmerizing novel of collateral damage, power games, and the brutal ingenuity of human cruelty in Germany overshadowed by the threat of the First World War.
The second novel by the Finlandia-nominated author. Nominated for the Runeberg Prize!
In the autumn of 1913, Bavarian accountant Izak Fasch discovers a strange hole in his backyard that brings back haunting memories of the past. Close to his home, Major General von Dustermann’s chemical factory is spewing ammonia slag into the ground and spreading its roots beneath the town.
After falling unhappily in love with Ilse, the charming young wife of an elderly major-general, Izak winds up in the company of an industrialist in Berlin in the last moments of the belle époque. As the mysteries buried in the past inevitably unfold, Izak experiences the darkness of the human condition first hand, but he also witnesses a glimmer of sincere goodness and love. Nonetheless, in the end no one is spared from life’s merciless game and the scythe of fate cannot be dodged.
Izak is a rich, traditional novel, with cleverly constructed scenes, charming settings, and tragicomic characters that transport the reader into the chaotic, colourful madness of Europe one hundred years ago.
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Reviews
2025, Runeberg Prize nominee
‘Joel Elstelä’s novel is set in Germany, where the threat of World War I casts a dark shadow. This multi-layered book, which contains references to the present day, tells the story of an individual’s development, a love story, and a plot that seeks to uncover the cause of a growing hole in the protagonist’s yard. What makes this book special is the way it delves into moments. In our restless and fast-paced modern world, the patient attention to detail creates a remarkable charm. The main character, Bavarian accountant Izak Fasch, is a man who is said to be ordinary, but who is forced to witness the rise of destructive forces. — Statement of the Runeberg Prize Jury
‘A grand historical novel. An allegory of our saber-rattling times.’ — Helena Ruuska, Helsingin Sanomat newspaper
‘Maybe the best aspect of Izak is its anti-war message. The book prompts readers to reflect on whether these so-called inevitable courses of history are truly beyond our control’. (…) Evil ultimately takes such brutal forms that we are moved into the realm of grotesque horror. This is a novel about power games, cynicism, and human brutality.’ —Tainan ja Tommin aarrearkku blog
‘An ambitious, grandiose, magnificent novel of ideas. (…) This is an aesthetic novel in the style of Thomas Mann (The Magic Mountain), Robert Musil, and Hermann Broch. The novels are set in the same period, in the run-up to the First World War. Elstelä is topical – it has been said that we are now living in a similar transition period.’— Pertti Kukkola in Kirjallisuuden ystävät, Facebook
‘What about the narrative language chosen by Elstelä? A bold choice, ornate, convoluted, exaggerated, archaic, like a stylized pastiche of some old narrative language. It works.’ — Pertti Kukkola in Kirjallisuuden ystävät, Facebook
‘There is no doubt about it, Elstelä is a masterful author.’ — Eeva Malkki on Goodreads
