Little Siberia

Little Siberia

by Antti Tuomainen (Author), Antti Tuomainen (Author), Antti Tuomainen (Author)

Synopsis

The arrival of a meteorite in a small Finnish town causes chaos and crime in this poignant, chilling and hilarious new thriller from the King of Helsinki Noir

'Tuomainen is the funniest writer in Europe' Marcel Berlins, The Times

'The biting cold of Northern Finland is only matched by the cutting dark wit and compelling plot on this must-read crime novel ... most highly recommended!!' Denzil Meyrick

'A brilliantly inventive and gloriously funny novel from Finland's greatest export' MJ Arlidge

'Finnish criminal chucklemeister Tuomainen is channelling Carl Hiaasen in this hilarious novel' Sunday Times Crime Club

A man with dark thoughts on his mind is racing along the remote snowy roads of Hurmevaara in Finland, when there is flash in the sky and something crashes into the car. That something turns about to be a highly valuable meteorite. With euro signs lighting up the eyes of the locals, the unexpected treasure is temporarily placed in a neighbourhood museum, under the watchful eye of a priest named Joel.

But Joel has a lot more on his mind than simply protecting the riches that have apparently rained down from heaven. His wife has just revealed that she is pregnant. Unfortunately Joel has strong reason to think the baby isn't his. As Joel tries to fend off repeated and bungled attempts to steal the meteorite, he must also come to terms with his own situation, and discover who the father of the baby really is.

Transporting the reader to the culture, landscape and mores of northern Finland Little Siberia is both a crime novel and a hilarious, blacker-than-black comedy about faith and disbelief, love and death, and what to do when bolts from the blue - both literal and figurative - turn your life upside down.

'What seems like a cockamamie crime novel full of dark humour is also a wonderfully poignant piece of writing by Antti Tuomainen' Crime Fiction Lover

PRAISE FOR ANTTI TUOMAINEN

'The deadpan icy sensibility of Nordic noir is combined here with warm-blooded, often surreal, humour ... Tuomainen's dark story manages to be as delicious as it is toxic' Jake Kerridge, Sunday Express

'Told in a darkly funny, deadpan style ... The result is a rollercoaster read' Laura Wilson, Guardian

'An original and darkly funny thriller with a Coen brothersesque feel & tremendous style' Eva Dolan

'Right up there with the best' The TLS

'Tuomainen's spare style suits the depressing subject and raises a serious question: how do you find hope when law and order break down?' Financial Times

'Both a thriller and a dark laugh a minute journey that will keep you hanging on to the end. The story of a man investigating his own death has been done before but not with such gusto' Maxim, Jakubowski, Crime Time

'A tightly paced Scandinavian thriller with a wicked sense of humor and a bumbling ne'er -do-well at its center' Matt Grant, Foreword reviews

'Colorful characters and awkward situations, as when Nyman becomes a person of interest to the locals, enhance the zany plot. Tim Dorsey fans will have fun' Publishers Weekly

'An offbeat jewel' Publishers Weekly

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 200
Publisher: Orenda Books
Published: 17 Oct 2019

ISBN 10: 191237451X
ISBN 13: 9781912374519

Media Reviews
With moral dilemmas, plenty of action, and the author's trademark mixture of humour and melancholy, this is Tuomainen's best yet. --Guardian

This enjoyable mystery explores how a bolt from above can, literally, turn your life upside down with both comedic and tragic consequences. Tuomainen continues to carve out his own niche in the chilly tundras of northern Finland in this poignant, gripping and hilarious tale. --Observer

While the plots of many Nordic noir writers are turning ever more grim, Finland's Antti Tuomainen opts these days for a wittier, lighter tough. So it is with Little Siberia, the tale of a meteorite that comes crashing into eastern Finland and eventually into the guardianship of local priest Joel. The rock is valuable and Joel is soon fending off the attempts of bungling criminals to steal it. Add Russians, a worrying pregnancy, a down-on-his luck rally driver and a neat subtext about faith, and Little Siberia (adroitly translated by David Hackston) is quite the ride. --Observer

Known as the king of Helsinki noir, Antti Tuomainen is among Finland's most acclaimed crime fiction writers. This forthcoming blacker-than-black comedy deals with the ramifications of a meteorite arriving in a small Finnish town. --Bookseller
As the standout scene in which Joel manipulates a corpse with the aid of a scarf while hiding in the back seat of an SUV suggests, none of this is meant to be taken too seriously; Antti Tuomainen is, after all, Scandinavia's answer to Carl Hiaasen. Nevertheless, Joel, suffering a crisis of faith, succeeds in facing this hilarious series of unfathomable events with admirable stoicism. What should I think of this man? In the space of one night he has both saved my life and tried to kill me. Twice. Highly recommended. --Times Book of the Month
Relentlessly funny. . . . Full of black ironies, this welter of suspicions, revenge, and hilarious physical and verbal combat makes some pungent reflections on life and death. Tuomainen probes the chilliest depths of noir comedy. --Publishers Weekly starred review of The Man Who Died

This one is a winner right from the first sentence. . . . An offbeat jewel. --Booklist starred review of The Man Who Died

U.S. audiences should prepare to be every bit as enthralled as the Finns. . . . Readers attracted either to dystopian fiction or to Scandinavian crime will find gold here. --Booklist starred review on The Healer
a gripping thriller whose complications pile to precarious, intoxicating heights. -- Foreword Reviews
Author Bio
Finnish Antti Tuomainen (b. 1971) was an award-winning copywriter when he made his literary debut in 2007 as a suspense author. The critically acclaimed My Brother's Keeper was published two years later. In 2011 Tuomainen's third novel, The Healer, was awarded the Clue Award for 'Best Finnish Crime Novel of 2011' and was shortlisted for the Glass Key Award. The Finnish press labelled The Healer - the story of a writer desperately searching for his missing wife in a post-apocalyptic Helsinki - 'unputdownable'. Two years later in 2013 they crowned Tuomainen 'The King of Helsinki Noir' when Dark as My Heart was published. With a piercing and evocative style, Tuomainen is one of the first to challenge the Scandinavian crime genre formula. The Man Who Died brought him to his literary best. Follow Antti on Twitter @antti_tuomainen, on Facebook facebook.com/AnttiTuomainen and on his website: www.antituomainen.com David Hackston is a British Translator of Finnish and Swedish literature and drama. Notable publications include The Dedalus Book of Finnish Fantasy, Maria Peura's coming-of-age novel At the Edge of Light, Johanna Sinisalo's eco-thriller Birdbrain, two crime novels by Matti Joensuu and Kati Hiekkapelto's Anna Fekete series (which currently includes The Hummingbird, The Defenceless and The Exiled, all published by Orenda Books). He also translates Antti Tuomainen's stories. In 2007 he was awarded the Finnish State Prize for Translation. David is also a professional countertenor and a founding member of the English Vocal Consort of Helsinki. Follow David on Twitter @Countertenorist