Little Siberia

by Antti Tuomainen, David Hackston (Translator)

Overview

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

***The Times BOOK OF THE YEAR***
***Shortlisted for the CrimeFest Last Laugh Award***
***Shortlisted for the CWA International Dagger***

‘With moral dilemmas, plenty of action, and the author’s trademark mixture of humour and melancholy, this is Tuomainen’s best yet’ Guardian

‘Scandinavia’s answer to Carl Hiaasen delivers another hectically silly crime caper involving a military chaplain, a suicidal rally driver and a very expensive meteorite’ The Times

‘Finnish criminal chucklemeister Tuomainen is channelling Carl Hiaasen in this hilarious novel’ Sunday Times

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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.

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‘Tuomainen is the funniest writer in Europe’ The Times

‘By no means Nordic noir of the familiar variety, this is eccentric, humorous fare, reminiscent of nothing so much as a Coen Brothers movie’ Financial Times

‘Tuomainen continues to carve out his own niche in the chilly tundras of northern Finland in this poignant, gripping and hilarious tale’ Daily Express

‘While the plots of many Nordic noir writers are turning ever more grim, Finland’s Antti Tuomainen opts these days for a wittier, lighter touch … quite the ride’ Observer

‘The biting cold of Northern Finland is only matched by the cutting dark wit and compelling plot on this must-read crime novel’ Denzil Meyrick

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

‘Told in a darkly funny, deadpan style … The result is a rollercoaster read’ Guardian

‘Right up there with the best’ The TLS

‘Through it all, Tuomainen maintains his singular tone, which mixes black humour with genuine, sometimes biting, sympathy for desperate people, provided that none take their needfulness too far … Little Siberia is a gripping thriller whose complications pile to precarious, intoxicating heights’ Foreword Reviews

‘Tuomainen also persuades readers how hard life makes it to do the right thing in a universe that too often feels like a profound personal insult. Fans of Scandinavian noir will relish this one’ Publishers Weekly

‘The results are hilarious, funny, imaginative and often very touching … The richness of well-developed characters and a dry sense of humour take on the relationships in the village bring this awkward story to another level’ Crime Review

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781912374519
Publisher:	Orenda Books
Publication date:	04/01/2020
Pages:	300
Sales rank:	702,607
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.70(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Antti Tuomainen is the author of Palm Beach, Finland; The Man Who Died; The Healer, and The Mine. The Healer was awarded the Clue Award for Best Finnish Crime Novel of 2011 and was shortlisted for the Glass Key Award. David Hackston is a translator whose publications include The Dedalus Book of Finnish Fantasy, Johanna Sinisalo’s Birdbrain and two novels by Matti Joensuu. In 2007 he was awarded the Finnish State Prize for Translation.

Editorial Reviews

★ 02/17/2020

Pastor Joel Huhta, the narrator of this stunning comic noir from Tuomainen (Palm Beach Finland), who ministers to the mostly neurotic villagers of Hurmevaara in the far north of Finland, has a secret. Due to wounds from his deployment to Afghanistan, Joel can’t father children, but six days after a meteorite strikes a former rally driver’s car, Joel discovers that his beloved wife, Krista, is pregnant. Joel, consumed by jealousy, searches for the father of Krista’s child as several boozy and violent villagers and Russian thugs plot to steal the valuable meteor from the local museum where it’s temporarily housed. With scalpel-keen portraits of villagers and their cruel wintry environment, the author humorously probes the eternal ironies, temptations, and uncertainties facing people caught up in unexpected circumstances. Tuomainen also persuades readers how hard life makes it to do the right thing in a universe that too often feels like a profound personal insult. Fans of Scandinavian noir will relish this one. Agent: Federico Ambrosini, Salomonsson Agency (U.K.). (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

"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


"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


"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


"[A] stunning comic noir...Fans of Scandinavian noir will relish this one."— Publishers Weekly


"While Finland generally tends toward a reputation for the dour, Antti Tuomainen is bucking the trend with his hilariously dark crime comedies." —CrimeReads

From the Publisher