Finnish Women Writers in Translation 

The latest installment in Pirkko Saisio’s Helsinki trilogy, Lowest Common Denominator (trans. Mia Spangenberg(opens in a new tab)) is due out from Two Lines Press on November 12th. If you’ve never read her fantastic novel The Red Book of Farewells, now is the perfect time! But if you’re finished with The Red Book and are hungry for something else while you wait, here are five other Finnish women writers in translation who deserve your time. 

Let’s begin with one of the most famous Finnish writers, Tove Jansson(opens in a new tab), creator of the incredibly popular Moomin children’s series featuring drawings of charming hippo-like creatures. Jansson’s other work in translation, however, is every bit as interesting and complex as her fantastical worlds. Much like Saisio, she was a queer woman growing up during a time when homosexuality was still illegal in Finland, and her writing features both overt and subtle references to queerness. Her novels Fair Play(opens in a new tab) and The Summer Book(opens in a new tab), both translated by Thomas Teal and re-issued as NYRB Classics, are filled with a deep appreciation for nature, grandmother-granddaughter relationships, quirky humor, reflections on being an artist, and the small pleasures of lesbian domesticity. 

Liksom(opens in a new tab) is a Finnish writer and artist from Lapland, the daughter of reindeer farmers. She is known for colorful clothes that match her whimsical drawings, in contrast to her dark and moody prose. She’s written children’s books, short story collections, and novels, unfortunately very few of which are translated into English. However, her collection One Night Stands(opens in a new tab), was translated by Anselm Hollo and published by High Risk in the United States. The back cover copy describes her stories as “post-punk,” little snapshots of Finnish people living in the margins. One Night Stands is a gritty look at the lives of young queer people, drug users, punks, squatters, and more. 

Sinisalo(opens in a new tab) writes in the “Finnish Weird”(opens in a new tab) tradition, a rejection of realism. Her work is situated in between speculative and science fiction, with dystopian and eco-feminist themes. If you’re interested in trolls and other Finnish mythology/folklore, you will love her debut novel Troll—A Love Story (opens in a new tab)(also known as Not Before Sundown), winner of the Finlandia prize, and translated by Herbert Lomas. Troll is the story of Angel, a young, queer photographer who takes in a wounded troll. If you know your creature stories, this obviously can’t end well! The book is unique in that Sinisalo takes a journalistic/research-based approach, treating trolls as real, endangered animals. 

Lindstedt(opens in a new tab) is younger than some of the women in this list, part of a new generation of exciting Finnish writers. Her latest book in English is My Friend Natalia(opens in a new tab), translated by David Hackstrom(opens in a new tab). My Friend is an experimental critique of self-help narratives, and follows a protagonist who goes by the pseudonym Natalia in her strange adventures in therapy, supposedly to deal with an intense sex drive. If you’re into autofiction, psychoanalysis, Anaïs Nin, wordplay, and unreliable narrators, this is one for you. 

Ahokoivu(opens in a new tab) is a Finnish writer and comic artist currently living in Denmark. Her mesmerizing graphic novel Oksi(opens in a new tab) was translated into English by Silja-Maaria Aronpuro(opens in a new tab). Oksi is the story of a bear family interwoven with Finnish mythology. The tale is rendered in gorgeous watercolors, presented with sparing and very intentional use of color. Oksi is for anyone interested in stories about mother-daughter relationships, violence, and transformation. 

Finally, a note that Finland is a diverse(opens in a new tab) country—home to migrants, a large Afro-Finnish community(opens in a new tab), Finnish Kale (or Roma)(opens in a new tab), the indigenous Sámi people(opens in a new tab), and many others, but it is currently very hard to find English translations available from these groups. Some of these great untranslated women writers include: Nura Farah(opens in a new tab), Ranya Paasonen(opens in a new tab), Inger-Mari Aikio(opens in a new tab), Kiba Lumberg(opens in a new tab), TaoLin, and Umayya Abu-Hanna(opens in a new tab). Here’s hoping we get some translations of their work soon!