The Dedalus Book of Finnish Fantasy

by Johanna Sinisalo (Editor, Introduction, Contributo), Arto Paasilinna (Contributor), Juhani Peltonen (Contributor)

Highly praised anthology of 100 years of Finnish literary fantasy. The latest volume in the Dedalus European fantasy series, this anthology of short stories includes a wide range of texts covering the period from nineteenth century until today. The richness and diversity of the stories reflects the long tradition of fantasy in Finnish literature, ranging from the classics to experimental literature, from satire to horror. This is the first collection of Finnish short stories of its kind and almost all are translated into English for the first time. It includes work by the leading Finnish authors Aino Kallas, Mika Waltari, Arto Paasilinna, Bo Carpelan, Pentti Holappa, and Leena Krohn as well as contributions by the rising stars of Finnish fiction.

Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories, Anthologies, Fiction, Finnish Literature, Literature, Werewolves

100 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2006

About the author

ENG: Johanna Sinisalo is an award-winning Finnish author. She was born in Sodankylä in 1958. During 1984-1997, she worked as a professional designer in advertising, after which she started as a screenwriter and writer. Sinisalo's first novel, Troll, won the Finlandia prize, the most important literature award in Finland. As her hobbies, Sinisalo mentions astronomy, gastronomy, hiking, literature and comics.

The author notes that her novels always feature a bit of the small everyday reality. However, overcoming the borders of realism does not mean that the author's works were to be classified as sci-fi or fantasy – from Sinisalo's point of view, categorizing literature by genre should be left behind.

FI: Johanna Sinisalo on syntynyt Sodankylässä vuonna 1958. Hän valmistui ylioppilaaksi Tampereella 1977 ja suoritti kandidaatintutkinnon Tampereen yliopiston yleisen kirjallisuustieteen draamalinjalla vuonna 1986. Markkinointi-instituutissa opiskellessaan hän sai vuoden parhaan diplomityön palkinnon 1987. Vuosina 1984–1997 Sinisalo toimi ammatikseen mainonnan suunnittelijana, sittemmin hän ryhtyi vapaaksi käsikirjoittajaksi ja kirjailijaksi. Sinisalon esikoisromaani Ennen päivänlaskua ei voi voitti vuoden 2000 Finlandia-palkinnon. Sittemmin Sinisalo on saanut muun muassa James Tiptree Jr. -palkinnon, Tampereen kaupungin kirjallisuuspalkinnon ja Prometheus-palkinnon.

Kirjailijan perheeseen kuuluu avomies ja aikuinen tytär. Harrastuksikseen Sinisalo mainitsee tähtitieteen, gastronomian, vaelluksen, kirjallisuuden ja sarjakuvan. Sinisalo asuu lapsuutensa kotikaupungissa Tampereella.

Tärkeitä kirjailijoita Sinisalolle ovat olleet Tove Jansson, Astrid Lindgren, L. M. Montgomery, Ray Bradbury, Volter Kilpi, Vladimir Nabokov, Michel Tournier ja Margaret Atwood. Tieteiskirjallisuuden lukemisen Sinisalo aloitti lapsena Edgar Rice Burroughsin seikkailukirjoilla. Niiden jälkeen hän löysi George Orwellin ja Aldous Huxleyn, joiden teoksissa science fiction on yhteiskunnan havainnoinin ja arvostelun väline.

Kirjailija toteaa, että hänen romaaneissaan on aina jokin pieni piirre arkitodellisuuden ulkopuolelta. Sinisalo on useiden muiden tavoin muistuttanut, että puhdas realismi on varsin nuori, 1800-luvun lopulta peräisin oleva kirjallinen suuntaus. Realismin rajojen ylittäminen ei kuitenkaan tarkoita, että kirjailijan teokset olisivat lajityypiltään scifiä tai fantasiaa. Sinisalon mielestä lajityyppiajattelusta pitäisi irtautua.

Sinisalo painottaa, että spekulatiivisuus ei ole kirjallisuudessa itseisarvo, vaan että sen kautta voidaan sanoa jotain oleellista jopa paremmin kuin realismin keinoin. Fantasian tai science fictionin kirjoittaminen ei ole päämäärä vaan väline kirjallisuuden tuottamiseen. Sinisalo käyttää sanaa ”viistovalaistus” kuvaamaan tämän välineen toimintaa: todellisuuden tutkiminen uudesta ja ennenkokemattomasta näkökulmasta voi paljastaa uusia puolia, joita ei ole voinut aikaisemmin nähdä.

Reviews

[Mir · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are more or less in chronological order, although not consistently. A number are minimally or not at all fantasy; I'd recommend this collection more to readers of literature and speculative fiction than fantasy lovers.

Aino Kallas "Wolf Bride" (1928): Aalo is a good Christian wife, hardworking, pleasant, obedient, modest. She is lured into becoming a werewolf. Apparently all werewolves do is run around at night enjoying being wolves, and she still does all her housewife stuff, but this is still EVIL.
This was more interesting for its historical attitudes than plot.

Aleksis Kivi "Legend of the Pale Maiden" (1870): This extract from a longer work takes the form of a myth that explains the place name of the village Impivaara. A loving couple is torn apart when a troll steals the maiden. Its her fault somehow, even though he uses magic. Because she glanced at a hot guy despite truly loving her boyfriend.

Mika Waltari "Island of the Setting Sun" (1926): Vikings find an unknown island where they slaughter, rape, and enslave the peaceful inhabitants. They find a statue which all who see covet and end up killing one another as well and also their hapless slaves.
There seems to be an implication that this is unfair somehow and the statue is evil. Because it is a statue of an attractive women and you know those are evil.

Bo Carpalan "Great Yellow Storm" (1979): A kid falls asleep in class and has a weird dream about a yellow storm. He gets detention and when he explains to his mother she says she has had that dream as well.
This was intriguing and atmospheric. May check out the author.

Pentti Holappa "Boman" (1959): A man's life is ruined by an evil dog. The dog is female, of course.

Tove Jansson "Shopping" (1987): Subtle, creepy post-apocalyptic story about human interrelations, emotions, expectations, fears. The stuff Jansson's always great at, yet its always new and different and surprising.

Erno Paasilinna "Congress" (1970): Government officials and specialist advisors discuss what is to be done in the eventuality of alien invasion. By the end they've decided to organize factory farming of humans for meat, starting now, in case the aliens want to eat them and having a supply ready would be the right suck-up move. It reads quite plausibly and is timely, or that timeless? Anyway, I see why this author was labeled a dissident.

Arto Paasilinna "Good Heavens!" (1980): Some jerk is killed in an accident caused by him walking in the street while ogling a woman. (He blames her, but in this case I think the author is being sarcastic about all those earlier stories which seriously blamed women's attractiveness for the things men are "made" to do). He finds that all the dead are hanging around. Death is banal and boring. At least there's the library reading room.

Juhani Peltonen "The Slave Breeder" (1965): Freaky rich guy has torture dungeon. This and taxidermy are his main hobbies.

Johanna Sinisalo "Transit" (1988): My favorite so far, and also the first with writing that I would describe as lively or naturalistic. The story is told backward, a junkie in jail trying to explain the crazy shit that went down that night. Based on this story I would definitely read more by this author, but it looks like only a couple of her books are translated and neither appeals to me.

Satu Waltari "The Monster" (1964): Interesting and well written dream a girl has about riding out as a sort of knight through a shifting fantasy landscape. It's part of a longer work, Twilight Travellers, which I will try if it is in translation.

Boris Hurtta "A Diseased Man" (2001): Live for today, don't have regrets. If you haven't got your health, you haven't got anything. This was fine, although it didn't seem to do anything new.

Olli Jalonen "Chronicles of a State" (2003): Not really fantasy in any way except the national details (you know, country X which is clearly an analog of Y real country). Recommended for journalists, historians, and politicians. Report responsibly.

Pasi Jaaskeliainen "A Zoo From the Heavens" (2000): A decent enough story about depression and post-traumatic stress, but not in any way fantasy, as it is entirely clear that the animals are just an allegory the father is making up as he goes to explain things to his small child.

Leena Krohn extracts from Datura and Pereat mundus (1998-2001): Interesting, although the choice to include 4 excepts rather than a longer text makes me suspicious that her plotting isn't up to par with her writing.

Markku Paasonen "Three Prose Poems" (2001): Despilfar. An author's head (conscious?) displayed in a museum cabinet. A man in a very dark coat.

Sari Peltoniemi "Golden Apple" (2003): Hey, I've read this one before! I wonder where...
A single mother, recently moved to a small town to work at school, enjoys an idyll of normal life before her creep ex gets out of jail and ruins everything once again. But what is behind her son's sudden sleep-walking...?

Jouko Sirola "Desk" (2003): It's about a desk. The desk goes for a walk.

Jyrki Vaainonen "Black Train" (1996): It never seems to work out well, going back to a place or condition from which one has escaped.

Maarit Verronen "Basement, Man and Wife" (1996): This was insightful regarding how relationships can go awry for small, unintentional reasons. I felt like I missed something about why the basement was important and what actually took place.

[Kirsty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I have showcased rather a lot of Finnish literature during my 2017 Reading the World Project, I felt that The Dedalus Book of Finnish Fantasy, edited by Johanna Sinisalo, would add something a little different to proceedings. It is an anthology which is comprised of the work of twenty distinct Finnish authors, who span the period 1870 to 2003. They range from the well-known - Moomin creator Tove Jansson and Arto Paasilinna, for instance - to those which have not been published in English before. The entirety, with its rather broad scope, has been translated by David Hackston, and is one of the books in the Dedalus series of Fantasy Literature in Translation.

I must begin by writing that I am not personally the biggest fan of fantasy literature; I picked this up because much of it is involved with magical realism, mythology, and Finnish folklore, three topics which I find markedly interesting. The Independent writes in its review of the book: 'These excellent stories share an edginess that's quite distinct from the quirkiness many contemporary English writers prefer to celebrate.'

In her introduction to the anthology, Sinisalo writes: 'Literature written in the Finnish language is surprisingly young.' In fact, written literature has existed for only a few centuries, and secular literature only since the 1800s. Most Finns did, and still do, write in Swedish, which has official language status throughout the country. As with other Nordic countries, literature is incredibly important for the population; many people read, and Sinisalo points out that 'literature is read, bought and borrowed from libraries more than almost anywhere else. Statistically Finns are among the most literate people in the world.'

In The Dedalus Book of Finnish Fantasy, a lot of the entries are short stories, but there are also some carefully chosen extracts from longer works. Each entrant is among good company; six of the twenty authors included have received the most prestigious literary award to exist in Finland, and many have been translated in a whole host of different languages. Sinisalo has intended to 'build up a cross-section of Finnish fantasy, both thematically and chronologically.' Whilst the stories included are largely very different, Sinisalo writes that when compiling the book, she 'observed that certain distinctly Finnish elements and subjects recur throughout these stories, albeit in a myriad of different ways, but in such a way that we can almost assume that, exceptionally, they comprise a body of imagery central to Finnish fantasy literature.'

Throughout, the sense of place and nature is so strong, and the collection is not simply a conglomeration of run-of-the-mill fantasy; rather, it is incredibly literary. Finland's rich history inspires the stories, which include such fantastical elements as werewolves, and resurrections of stuffed creatures, as well as isolated storms which play havoc. Different perspectives have been used, including a very striking story told from the voice of a ghost. The prose, overall, is beautiful, and its translation has been handled marvellously.

Some stories, of course, appealed to me more than others; I half expected that this would be the case. However, the collection read as a whole is incredibly rich, and presents a splendid thematic idea. It has reminded me of stories which I adore, as well as bringing new writers to my attention - Sari Peltoniemi's 'The Golden Apple' is a firm new favourite, for example - which can only be a positive.

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Johanna Sinisalo (editor) and David Hackston (translator) have done a great job with this collection of fantasy tales. They run the gamut from the odd to the frightening to the fantastical to the magical, but each story has been chosen with care to represent the relatively young genre of Finnish fantasy.

From the first page, it was clear that I had stepped out of the American and English fantasy tradition, and my first sensations were discomfort and disorientation. Fortunately, the strength of the writing drew me back in, and ultimately, out of twenty-seven solid, well-written stories (by twenty different Finnish authors), I was especially glad to have discovered the following thirteen.

Wolf Bride (Sudenmorsian), by Aino Kallas
As Sinisalo explains in her introduction, Finnish literature was only truly born in the 19th century. This is utterly incredible to a person like me, who not only cannot imagine living without literature today, but can't fathom a world where it never existed in my native tongue. One of my favorite books of all time, Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange Mr Norrell , is written in the style (more or less) of a Georgian-era novel/history/memoir—an impressive feat, to be sure. What Aino Kallas did is even more impressive: in the 1920s, she was writing in the style of the 16th-century Finnish novel, a beast that simply never existed. This extract seems fairly authentic to me, but then, I'm no expert in reconstructed hypothetical literary voices. In any case, it's a good read, with lycanthropy and witchcraft and religious hysteria galore.

Island of the Setting Sun (Auringonlaskun saari), by Mika Waltari
While reading this story, I couldn't help thinking that Waltari had written a much better story about sailing beyond the edge of the world than C.S. Lewis ever dreamed of. Also a sexier, darker, bloodier one.

The Great Yellow Storm (Stormen), by Bo Carpelan
If "vivid, dream-like imagery" is a contradiction in terms, then maybe I'm not capable of reviewing this story. But I did like it very much, especially the exchange between the narrator and his mother at the end.

Shopping, by Tove Jansson
A middle-aged couple copes in a post-apocalyptic future, where every remaining good thing is slowly being destroyed and vandalized by "the others."

The Slave Breeder (Orjien Kasvattaja), by Juhani Peltonen
Werner is a slave breeder. He owns a 'slaviary' of welded steel full of slaves. And it seems clear that he is quite, quite mad. But he is the one with the whip.

Transit, by Johanna Sinisalo
Johanna Sinisalo does not fail to live up to my expectations with this tale, told in two opposing styles, and from two conflicting points of view. A rough, rowdy "right old bastard" meets the girl of his dreams. She convinces him to help her in a daring plan, but of course there are a few secrets she's not telling.

The Ice Cream Man, by Leena Krohn
This dark little tale takes place under a burning sun during a blistering heat wave. Krohn builds up the atmosphere a little at a time until the terrible, inevitable ending.

Three Prose Poems, by Markku Paasonen
Slightly nightmarish, slightly claustrophobic, the first two poems are clinical and almost clipped in tone; they speak of science (although no science I'm familiar with) and museums and measurements and knowledge. The third poem is a tight, breathless spiral, a stumbling run towards oblivion. And all three poems are marvelous.

Blueberries (Mustikoita), by Jyrki Vainonen
Blueberries and bones, bones and blueberries. And MURDER! And pie.

Basement, Man and Wife (Kellarimies ja vaino), by Maarit Veronen
As in any relationship, the problems between this couple are mostly a product of things not said, of expectations not met, of insecurities never fully understood—but what if the kaleidescope suddenly turned, and those choices had been made differently?

[Talvirinka · Rating 3 out of 5]

I came to this collection through 'Finnish Weird' magazines which I liked a lot. I began to read more finnish authors because of that concept of 'weird' Johanna Sinisalo was writing about. It felt like just for me and my preferences in literature. So I've already read some authors presented in this anthology: Tove Jansson, Arto Paasilinna, Pasi Ilmari Jaaskelainen, Leena Krohn, Johanna Sinisalo. I liked some of their books, but the anthology itself kinda disappointed me, mainly because it made me skip quite many stories, I didn't find interesting for myself.
At the same time, I honestly think the stories here are really good, even at this time it wasn't just for me.
I enjoyed a lot the 'pagan' ones such as "Wolf Bride" by Aino Kallas and "Island of the Setting Sun" by Mika Waltari. I would like to read some more stories like these ones. Also, I liked "The Monster" by Satu Waltari and "Blueberries" by Jyrki Vainonen which has an interesting strange and dark atmosphere. By the way, all the authors here create a dark, mysterious, weird atmosphere, even not all of them clicked with me while trying to read.

[Alan (the Lone Librarian rides again) Teder · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came for the Estonian werewolves, but I stayed for the Finnish fantasy.

I originally picked up the Dedalus Book of Finnish Fantasy as it has a new English language translation of Aino Kallas' 1928 novella "Sudenmorsian" (The Wolf's Bride) which centres around an Estonian Hiiumaa Island farmwife who is enticed and bewitched into joining a werewolf pack. (There is an earlier translation by Alex Matson that is pretty much impossible to find in print.) In a slight twist, the extract used in this 2006 anthology cuts off at Chapter 8, making it a de facto "happy ending" version, where the werewolves are left to run free in the forests and marshlands and the tragic fate of the bewitched heroine is not revealed.

This actually felt totally ok to me as the original novella clearly seems to side with the natural world of the werewolves vs. the superstitious strictures of the local authorities and villagers. With a bit of easy googling of "Aino Kallas" + "Wolf's Bride" you can even pick up on some fascinating references to studies that interpret Kallas' werewolves as metaphors for modern era women. Having a "happy ending" version of one of the usually grim and despairing tales of Kallas is a separate treasure of its own. Some may be irritated to be left wondering what the real ending is. Trust me I won't spoil it, but it is not "happy".

The rest of this book was a bonus in that it introduced me to about a couple of dozen other Finnish writers in the fantasy realm. The Kallas is actually pretty much the closest the book gets to the horror genre and the rest really is more along the lines of speculative, often dream-like fiction. I especially enjoyed "Transit" the selection from editor Johanna Sinisalo's own short fiction, a tale of a n'er do well who is unwittingly drawn into a dolphin-freeing plot by an otherwise seemingly mute girl who appears to have a psychic connection to the underwater mammals. I've since discovered that Sinisalo is also the writer behind the original story of the cult Finnish sci-fi film "Iron Sky" and her novel "Troll: A Love Story" is definitely going onto my To Be Read shelf.

Anthologies can sometimes be a mixed bag but the variety and the quality here were excellent and I hope to read more from these authors.

[Karalee Coleman · Rating 3 out of 5]

More short stories. What was I thinking?

I had been unaware that Finnish Weird was a recognized subset of Literary Fantasy until I read an article about it on Tor.com, so I had to try it. Well, the stories in this collection are definitely weird. Not whimsical weird. Not cheerful weird. Just … weird. Some of them could have come directly from the lips of a rune singer. Others were the dreams, hopes, or fantasies of children. One made me think of Asimov’s Fantastic Voyage. Others had underlying themes of censorship, denial, or the inevitable end of the world.

Most of the stories had a strong awareness of the natural world – there were recluses living in isolated villages or subsisting off the land in forests. Northern animals – wolves, bears, elk – played significant parts. Lovely descriptions of scenery abounded, whatever the storylines.

I often find that English translations of Scandinavian literature feel somehow flat, almost depressed. That was not the case with this volume. The translator, David Hackston (an Englishman living in Finland), gave the stories vibrant, colloquial voices, despite the often dark subject matter. This was an unexpected treat.

My Finnish friends used to tell me that the Finns loved to while away their long winters by dancing the Tango. None of these stories mentioned this. I wonder if they were pulling my leg?

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

So far, I'm totally digging this book. I stumbled across it and since I'm Finnish grabbed it off the shelf. It's way more accessible than I originally would have thought. The stories are the perfect length and have just enough Finnish references & stoicism for me the relate to. Some stories lagged a bit, but I jumped around.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite authors in this collection: Aino Kallas (Wolf Bride), Mika Waltari (Island of the Setting Sun), Pentti Holappa (Boman), Erno Paasilinna (Congress), Johanna Sinisalo (Transit), *Pasi Jaaskelainen (A Zoo from the Heavens)*, Leena Krohn, and Sari Peltoniemi (The Golden Apple).

[idle · Rating 4 out of 5]

An anthology of Finnish fantasy fiction through times - from the 19th century to recent works. As I try to read more an more Finnish literature I am bound to come across stuff I've already read, but there was just a handful of those here; most of the stories were new to me. Useful and pleasant to read. Some of the stories were more interesting to me, some less, but still good to get some variety and overall picture.

Aino Kallas – Wolf Bride: Excerpt, but fairy self-contained, if these were chapters 4–8, what was in the first three chapters anyway? The story started here. 19th century, Christian background, flowery language and a lot of descriptions, werevolves.
Aleksis Kivi – The Legend of the Pale Maiden: Story told within a larger story, a girl captured by a troll.
Mika Waltari – Island of the Setting Sun: Written in the 20th century, but the setting is Viking times. Bold, careless and thoughtless explorers finding a mysterious island.
Bo Carpelan – The Great Yellow Storm: A weird dream of a storm in a school building. It could have been just a dream but maybe not completely.
Pentti Holappa – Boman: A man tells the story of an extraordinary dog.
Tove Jansson – Shopping: Two people in a post-apocalyptic setting – but the focus is on their relationship, not what has happened.
Erno Paasilinna – Congress: An international congress on an imminent alien invasion gets a bit sidetracked.
Arto Paasilinna – Good Heavens: Excerpt from a book (which I’ve read before, so I skipped this time).
Juhani Peltonen – The Slave Breeder: A man “happens to” start keeping slaves in an ancient house. Everything is slightly weird but told matter-of-factly.
Johanna Sinisalo – Transit: (another one I skipped this time)
Satu Waltari – The Monster: A girl knight travels through a fairytale country at night.
Boris Hurtta – A Diseased Man: There is a man out there who buys off diseases from others – but it isn't cheap.
Olli Jalonen – Chronicles of a State: A reporter recounts a country's history after a catastrophe and his own part in it.
Pasi Jääskeläinen – A Zoo from the Heavens: A boy learns about his father's childhood. Told through a child’s eyes. Some animals from a zoo are involved.
Leena Krohn – Datura; Pereat Mundus (excerpts)
Markku Paasonen – Three Prose Poems: Three very short stories describing unusual things or encounters. More atmosphere than plot.
Sari Peltoniemi – The Golden Apple: A woman and son try to settle down in a village which has a few pecularities, including wooden bear statues in almost everyone's garden.
Jouko Sirola – Desk: An ancient writing desk leaves its place to explore the neighborhood.
Jyrki Vainonen – Blueberries: A man living by himself out in the country finds something while picking blueberries. He isn’t very shocked, though, because it lines up with his hobby.
Jyrki Vainonen – The Explorer: A man disappears from the world to “get inside his wife’s life”, as literally as possible. Technical details not given.
Maarit Verronen – Black Train: A short visit to an unpleasant and unwelcoming country.
Maarit Verronen – Basement, Man and Wife: And a more positive story for a change. A description of an unhappily married pair and their house suddenly turns direction.

[Missberet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aalo runs away from wolf hunters in a passage from the story "Wolf Bride". A troll captures a pale maiden. A viking voyage pillages disaster. An October Yellow Storm pulls a roof off. A dog owner trains Bownan the dog how to be an individual. Emily and Kristian live in a looters world. A space ship runs amuck and congress complies to the aliens, making them feel welcome. Observing your own death and finding other spirits like you is alright, but, where are you?. A sadist feels the precision of his own hatred. An Autistic girl takes a man on a strange one-night adventure. Vivian finds a dragon. Huovinen has been diagnosed with Cancer, can he survive?. A educational historical writer who experienced a reactor zone organizes food growth in radiation soil. Marmot's Father does not speak until now because there was an elephant in the garden some years ago. Among other theories, if you drill a hole into your head you will restore your senses. "Despilfar", a creature in a lab, a head in "punishment" and a dark coat with a black spot in "Final Assignment" are three prose poems by the same author. Rea is a teacher who's son Tuisku has problems, but the school has it's share as well. A desk comes to life. Blueberry skulls send surreal dreams to you. An old home takes care of itself before a black train with eight passengers releases one of it's riders.

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mixed bag. As usual with anthologies there were some stories which resonated with me more than others.

The first story ‘Wolf Bride’ by Aino Kalas was fantastic, steeped in folklore and conveyed a dark and rural tale of metamorphosis and possession.

Other stand out stories included Juhani Peltonen’s surrealistic ‘The Slave Breeder’, ‘The Golden Apple’ by Sari Peltoniemi, ‘The Monster’ by Satu Waltari and Jyrki Vainonen’s two macabre stories ‘Blueberries’, where a man eats blueberries from a plant growing from the skull of his father, and ‘The Explorer’ where a man disappears inside his wife, living in her thigh bone until her untimely demise involving a car accident and a moose!

[Anna Rita Loiacono · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was an interesting read. Some short stories were a bit boring and did not catch my attention. Others were quite inspiring, they made me wanna know more about the author.

[Tobi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not all of the stories are quite to my liking (some are incredible), but they make a great collection and provide a nice view into the Finnish world.

[Amy Kuivalainen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Dedalus Book of Finnish Fantasy is a collection of short stories from twenty of Finland’s leading fantasy writers. The collection is compiled and edited by author and screen writer Johanna Sinisalo. Winner of the prestigious Finlandia prize, the James Triptree Jnr award and Nebula nominee Sinisalo endorses and shines an illuminating light on the quality and depth of Finnish fantasy. In her introduction she explains the strong preference of realism in Finland but despite this “Finnish literature has given rise to-and, indeed, continues to give rise to- writers who wish to look at the surrounding world through the refracted light of fantasy.” And what fantasy. Each story is unique, evocative and profound.

Duel themes of war and nature are present through the entirety of the collection. These two elements are predominating in the modern Finnish cultural mindset. The small country has held off invasion by its Swedish and Russian neighbors over the centuries and it has left a strong mark. Unapologetically graphical references to war are explored in many of the stories. Deals are struck on the battle front in Boris Hurtta’s Faustian A Diseased Man, there is the frightening post-apocalyptic vision of Olli Jalonen’s Chronicles of State and the most disturbing figure in the whole collection Werner Reiss, protagonist and sadist of The Slave Breeder by Juhani Peltonen.

“In Finland culture and nature do not struggle against one another, they are not mutually exclusive, rather they encroach upon one another, they merge and influence one another,” Sinisalo writes and the reader can identify this instantly in the way animals and forests manifest throughout. An extract from Aino Kallas’s The Wolf Bride sets the tone of the collection, a story of shape shifting and misty forests. Many of the tales draw on the mythology of the North but give them a strong modern twist. The Golden Apples by Sari Pentoniemi has the wooden bear guardians of a small town coming alive in the protection of children while Penti Holappa’s Bowman explores the bonds of a master and his talking dog who dreams of becoming a bird. Johanna Sinisalo’s own contribution Transit is a curiously touching story of an autistic girl becoming lucid and alive long enough to free dolphins from an aquarium before disappearing with them into the ocean.
There is something undefinably primordial about Finnish fantasy, the way it haunts you in the most unexpected ways, the way it repeats in your mind days after the reading.

The Dedalus Book of Finnish Fantasy gives the world a much needed injection of Finnish culture. It makes the reader wish that more of it was in translation. The stories are alien, mysterious and infused with a rich melancholy that makes you long for snowy forests and shining lakes. It is a feast for the senses, a book to be treasured and re-read. I would highly recommend it to any serious fantasy writer or connoisseur who is tired of safe stories and want to venture into dark frozen forests where the monsters hide.

[Michael Samerdyke · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a tremendous anthology of fine stories. The first story in this book is a very traditional werewolf story from the 1800s, but most of the stories are far more modern than that, and they range from Kafkaesque satires to tales of children's dreams. You never know what the next story will bring, yet they all fit together.

Some tales that really stood out for me were:

Satu Waltari's "The Monster," an incredibly inventive tale about a girl's dreams.

Olli Jalonen's "Chronicles of the State," a splendid examination of the psychology of tyranny, as a reporter uses a Chernobyl-type incident to rise to absolute power.

Pasi Jaaskelainen's "A Zoo from the Heavens" is a remarkable story about using the language of fantasy to work through a traumatic childhood. Perhaps the best story in the book.

Sari Peltoniemi's "The Golden Apple" also uses the "legends" of childhood in a clever way, while Jyrki's Vainonen's "The Explorer" takes the reader on a unique expedition.

A very inventive, diverse collection of fascinating stories.

[David Pollison · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great collection of fantasy, horror and science fiction stories.

A couple of days ago I went to a strange & ancient place in downtown Los Angeles. It was the public library, a place I'm afraid that too few people go to these days. With parking at a minimum of $4.00 per hour I figured I should at least get my money's worth. After picking up the book on hold for my wife I wandered through the aisles. I found the Science Fiction, then the mystery section and as I was wondering if they even had a section for horror I found this in the short story section. With cover art and title such as this I couldn't resist.

[Story · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. It's always difficult to know how to rate an anthology and that's especially true for this one. While several of the stories did not capture my interest at all, others were engrossing from the very first line and filled my imagination with delicious images.

In particular, I enjoyed Pentti Holappa's "Boman" (the adventures of a cultured and rather sarcastic talking dog), Aarto Paasalinaa's "Good Heavens!" (a man learns being dead can be very interesting) and Johanna Sinisalo's "Transit" (an autistic girl acts on a message received from dolphins).

I look forward to reading other collections of European fantasy from Dedalus.

[Asaria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Calling this novel a short story anthology is misleading. More often than not the stories are only shortened excerpts from novels. It also makes no sense to put them in the fantasy genre, when magical realism fits more. If you want to get introduced to finnish literature, go ahead. The Dedalus Book will fullfil nicely that goal.

[Marita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun short stories. Some of them were a bit much so I skipped a few. Most of them were very enjoyable and I specially liked the short synapses of each writer and their carrier. Translator did a good job on capturing different styles in writing.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This anthology provides a good example of Finnish literature, but the stories themselves are rather hit or miss. I enjoyed 'Wolf Bride', 'Boman', 'Shopping', 'A Zoo From the Heavens' and 'The Golden Apple' but I didn't enjoy most of the others, and some I even skipped completely.

[Alise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved these darkish tales. From melancholy to horror, this was a lovely introduction to Finnish fantasy world and I'll be looking to find more translations from the authors featured.