Representing the best
Finnish authors abroad
Finnish authors abroad
Minna Rytisalo’s new multi-layered novel about Petronella – the myth and legend of Lapland.
One of TOP20 bestselling printed books in Finland for 2025!
A novel about a woman who refused to settle down—and a world that refused to let her roam free.
What if a woman has only her name—and even that can be changed? Why did the Dutchwoman Sylvia van der Moer end up in Lemmenjoki gold-miners cabin in the summer of 1949, and why was there such a desperate effort to capture her?
In the wilderness of Lapland , geologist Klaus Säynävaara is walking beside Sylvia. He is carrying stones—and a truth Sylvia does not wish to hear.
In Berlin, Hedda Müller leafs through newspapers, searching for the article Sylvia promised to write about her. In Rome, Linda Mucci, single mother of eight, watches her guest and wonders whether this fugitive woman can be saved. But why does Sylvia refuse to recall her time in Tunisia?
This finely tuned novel widens into a meditation on the relationship between people and nature, in a Europe scarred by war, and on the responsibility an individual bears when the rules have changed.
Sylvia is a story of freedom and captivity, of what it means to live in a world where the war is over but suspicion has not vanished. Who was Sylvia, truly? An adventurer, a swindler, a survivor—or simply a woman who longed to be free?
Finnish (WSOY, orig.)
German (Hanser)
‘With exceptional expressive power and delicacy, Minna Rytisalo paints the nature of Lapland, but also succeeds in masterful portrayal of the characters.’
—Heidi Lakkala, Kaleva newspaper, Finland
‘The author Minna Rytisalo brings Sylvia’s story to life through the voice of Sylvia herself and the voices of the many people entwined in her life, moving through different times: on the fells of Jäkäläpää, in the Hague, in Tunisia, in Rome, in Rovaniemi, and in California. As always in life, people meet each other only for a moment, travel together for some time and then the paths diverge. Memories and stories remain.’ —Seura magazine, Finland
‘The most touching aspect of this skillfully constructed novel is the almost lyrical descriptions of Lapland’s nature and the story of Sylvia and geologist Klaus’s hiking trip.’ —Turun sanomat newspaper, Finland
