Representing the best
Finnish authors abroad
Finnish authors abroad
A luminous, nostalgic story exploring the surprising paths that open when one dares to follow curiosity instead of convention.
It is spring in Helsinki. University student Karin Lauraeus is walking along Esplanadi street, her skirt catching the breeze, her mind burning with anger. She has sworn off men and their deceit. Even the Major—whom she once believed to be a steady, trustworthy presence—has revealed himself to be nothing more than a fortune‑hunter after her father’s money.
While Karin’s fashionable friends lounge in a newly opened summer restaurant, chattering about trivialities, her gaze drifts to the neighbouring table. First she notices a pair of spectacles. Then a worn raincoat, scuffed shoes, and a pipe. That man does not belong here, she thinks—yet something about him pulls her attention.
An unexpected adventure begins from a bachelor’s flat furnished with packing boxes on the back streets of Töölö, guided by the ever‑surprising Joosef Huttunen—“a child, a madman, a jester, a trickster, and the most wonderful man in the world.”
Mika Waltari’s 1938 novel brims with springtime exuberance, the charm of old Helsinki, and a wistful nostalgia for youth. Its characters drift between the elegant café Fazer, the illustrious Hotel Grand, the iconic Kappeli with its glass walls, and the lively summer restaurant Kaivohuone situated in a park by the sea. They race along newly paved streets in automobiles and escape to summer cottages in the countryside, bewildering the locals with their modern ways.
The entire novel sparkles with carefree energy— this is a celebration of youth, love, and the irresistible promise of summer.
“An elegant satire (…). All ingredients for merriment à la Wodehouse”. – Panu Rajala in Unio Mystica
Czech (Euromedia), rights reverted
Estonian (Sinisukk)
