Stone in Silk
ORIGINAL TITLE: Sten i siden
NUMBER OF PAGES: 600
AUTHOR: Mikael Niemi
ORIGINAL PUBLISHER: Piratförlaget
GENRE: Current Books, Fiction
During excavation work in the marshes on the outskirts of Pajala, some decayed remains are discovered. They appear to have been there for a very long time, and soon prove to be of human origin. The traces lead back to distant generations and harsher times, when Tornedalen’s destitute workers rose up and started to demand their rights. We encounter a poor sharecropper family – their dreams, pride and battles – as the first road was laid through Pajala’s woodlands.
In Uppsala, a woman has a recurring vision. Something is tugging her northward, to her father’s birthplace. Is it the ancestors’ voices that are calling?
Stone in Silk is a story that tenderly depicts Tornedalen, its people and its landscapes – and those who have gone before, struggling for their place on earth.
Reviews
"... prose that gives off sparks. ... Niemi knows exactly when the language should rest – and when it should do somersaults."
Aftonbladet
"He knows the region and portrays [its inhabitants’] mentalities and mindsets utterly convincingly”
Arbetarbladet
"Niemi is a storyteller of the epic variety, which he once again demonstrates. The language alternately snuffles and crawls in mud and dung, alternately crackles and sparkles like a Mozart aria with ornaments and trills in metaphors, descriptions and digressions."
Gefle Dagblad
"A pure delight of a novel!"
Yukiko Duke, Vi Läser
"Mikael Niemi [writes] an almost magically epic prose that propels the action forward. Although the novel is almost 600 pages long, every page, every word has a purpose in its construction. A masterful novel. Rating: 5, Brilliant."
Bibliotekstjänst
"Magnificent [novel] about poverty, strikes and genuine people."
"[With this novel, Mikael Niemi] has set the bar high, maybe all the way up for the Nordic Council's Literature Prize."
- Stein Roll, Adresseavisen
Rights sold
Danish rights sold to Modtryk
Faroese rights sold to Sprontin
Finnish rights sold to Like
French rights sold to Editions Stock
German rights sold to BTB
Italian rights sold to Iperborea
Norwegian rights sold to Oktober
