Niemi

Some while after the Big Bang, through astronomical, geological and other accidents, a headland begins to jut out in the northern hemisphere. Then comes 1809, and that would be the whole story, were there not episodes in those fourteen billion years worth telling. The book is a cultural history of the universe narrowed, the narrator says, to that one stubby headland, comparing its achievements with European culture and beyond and leaving out Russian rule and the republic. It digs into folk poetry without the Kalevala as go-between, finds the headland’s most translated text from centuries ago, and shows its internationalism even before the crusades, prizing learning and invention over zealotry and bluster.

AI-generated summary

About the book

Form

Novel

Length

448 pages in the original

Genres

Historical, Satire (assigned by AI)

Set in

Finland

First published

2017 by Teos

Author's age

58 when first published

ISBN

9789518518108 (original)

More

Wikidata