Why a Booktrail?
1970s and 1980: An enigmatic work of autofiction set in a time of leftist politics and criminalized sexuality.
The Red Book of Farewells
What you need to know before your trail
Pirkko Saisio’s autofictional novel, in Mia Spangenberg’s tender translation, is a mesmerizing account of radical politics and sexual awakening in a series of farewells–to her mother, to the idealism of youth, to friends and lovers, and finally to her grown daughter. The novel embeds readers in a delirious Finland, where art and communist politics are hopelessly intertwined, and where queer love, still a crime, thrives in underground bars. But then one morning in 2002, on a remote island off the coast of Finland, the narrator Pirkko Saisio informs her publisher that she’s accidentally deleted her latest manuscript, The Red Book of Farewells
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Helsinki
Pirkko Helena Saisio (born 16 April 1949) is a Finnish author, actress and director.
She has a broad literary output, dealing with many kinds of texts from film screenplays all the way to librettos for the ballet. Her novel Betoniyö (1981) was adapted into a feature film Concrete Night in 2013 by Pirjo Honkasalo.
“You must open doors, and then you must close them.
You must make sure to close the doors you’ve left behind. You must make sure to breathe.“
BookTrail Boarding Pass: The Red Book of Farewells
Destination/Location: Finland, Helsinki Author: Pirkko Saisio Departure: 1970s and 1980s
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