Shortlist for this year’s Finlandia Junior Prize and Finlandia Prize for Non-Fiction announced

The Finnish Book Foundation has announced the shortlists of children’s books and non-fiction books nominated for this year’s Finlandia Prize, Finland’s most prestigious literary award. The award sum for each prize is 30,000 euros. Here are the juries' assesments of each shortlisted work.

Finlandia Junior Prize Nominees 2010

Tapani Bagge: Maalla ("In the country"). Illustrated by Hannamari Ruohonen (Tammi)

Maalla is intended for children just learning to read, but it doesn’t underestimate its readers. The book begins in a melancholy vein with a different kind of trip to grandma’s house – after grandma is gone. As she goes about her everyday life, Kaisa, the main character, ponders what happens after you die. Sometimes the family goes on a morning fishing trip or eats cardamom bread together.

The spare illustrations give wings to the story. There is a delicate sensitivity to the pictures of pattering rain, of the wish to let grandma, who has turned into a butterfly, out the attic window. Although the subject is one of life’s great mysteries, Maalla is not heavy. On the contrary, Kaisa and the adults around her accept death as a part of life going forward. As grandpa says: "we’re not afraid around here". This peaceful acceptance gives the reader a beautiful attitude toward life: when winter’s over, summer will begin again.

Siri Kolu: Me Rosvolat ("Me and the Bandits"). Illustrated by Tuuli Juusela (Otava)

The Vainisto family is just starting out on their summer vacation when their car is attacked by the Rosvola family. The bandits are after candy, but in the process they also steal the Vainistos’ daughter Vilja by mistake. Exhilarating adventure and comedy ensues, where roles switch and it’s not quite clear whose wishes are the most important.

The stolen and somewhat forlorn Vilja is a bright kid and enjoys writing in her journal. Her musings help young readers to feel like part of the events of the story. Does Vilja want to go home? Is there any point in banditry? The Rosvola’s steal just for fun, for a love of candy, and for tradition’s sake. They don’t understand the value of money, and they don’t have any desire to take over the world... at least not until a smart bandit girl discovers that bottomless treasure trove of banditry opportunity, the internet.

A very unusual and straightforwardly anarchic attitude forces readers young and old to ponder what the clamor for possessions and striving for wealth is all about. Me rosvolat is a tale as fast-paced as a getaway car. Tuuli Juusela’s illustrations break up the text beautifully.

Laura Lähteenmäki: Aleksandra Suuri ("Alexandra the Great", WSOY)

Alexandra is an admirable 16-year-old, the center of attention in the drama club. She encounters the challenge of her life when Tim, an exchange student from Holland, becomes a part of her family.

The irresponsible young man cares nothing for the rules of cooperative living, but her parents write off Alexandra’s complaints as signs of sibling rivalry and impoliteness. Alexandra criticizes her father and stepmother’s yearning for the idyllic, their poor language skills, their taste in furnishings. The worst thing about them is that they put Tim first in everything. That Dutch good-for-nothing can do whatever he likes, but Alexandra’s completely normal activities are interpreted in ever more negative ways.

The intense portrait of the first-person narrator Alexandra’s gradual downfall is a therapeutic reading experience. Lähteenmäki infallibly chooses the best linguistic means to describe different powerful emotional states. Alexandra’s ever more acerbic indignation is gradually channelled into a decision to take charge of her own life. The black humor of the novel’s resolution is a wonderful climax that makes the reader think again about the bias of the narrator. Alexandra Suuri sharply criticizes loose parenting that can make even the most fortunate of young people feel marginalized.

Markus Majaluoma: Hulda kulta, luetaan iltasatu! ("Let’s read a bedtime story, Hulda dear!", WSOY)

This picture book begins with the statement “A book is a garden”. In this garden there is certainly a lot to look at. Jalmari is reading Hulda a bedtime story, and the warmth of the setting will appeal not only to children, but also to adults reading the book to a child.

The thoughtfully drawn pictures and strong story easily draw the reader into the enchantment of the world of fairy tales. The double-page illustrations that begin and end the book continue the story where the text leaves off. The strong overlap of text and illustration forms a coherent whole that carries the story.

Hulda chooses an animal story for Jalmari to read, and the text takes a two-level form. Young readers will easily follow both stories with the help of the illustrations. Before saying goodnight to Hulda, we have an adventure in the forest, lose ourselves in the world of dreams, and get completely caught up in the animal story. And when Hulda finally falls asleep, the two-page final illustration opens a gateway to an inviting garden.

A good idea needs nothing more than a concise text and artful drawings. That’s what lovely bedtime stories are made of.

Katarina von Numers-Ekman: Konrad och Kornelia ("Konrad and Kornelia").
Illustrated by Christel Rönns (Schildts)

A middle-aged woman named Kornelia and her best friend Penttinen have lived together ever since Kornelia was a little girl. Strange to say, but Penttinen doesn’t really exist, except in Kornelia’s imagination. When a lonely retiree named Konrad moves in across the street, the story gets interesting – Konrad and Kornelia must meet, and it’s time for Penttinen to leave. Many turns in the plot are needed, and strokes of luck, and outside help from new friends, before the story reaches its heartwarming conclusion, with no one left alone anymore, not even imaginary creatures.

Konrad och Kornelia beautifully and empathetically tells the story of contemporary people in an urban environment. It expresses the desire to feel safe with another person, to share our everyday lives, to make the everyday special with another person. Even the smallest children will understand the book’s characters and laugh at its warm humor. The illustrations are abundant, stylish, and skillfully made. They will beckon readers back to the book again and again.

Anne Vasko: Jellona Suuri ("Lion the Great"). Graphic design and layout by Erika Kallasmaa. Photographs by Jaakko Vasko (WSOY)

Anne Vasko’s picture book Jellona Suuri is a thoughtful work from cover to cover. The stuffed toy Jellona strides across the pages straight to your heart, as best-loved toys always do. The fabric collage achieves a liveliness of illustration that is the peak of polish and visual creativity.

The book is doubly touching: the fabric of the back continues boldly along the cover, so that it’s materiality can be felt even before one opens the book, and the sewn fabric illustrations inside make a strong tactile impression. Long live terry cloth, waffle cloth, patterned cotton and fuzzy bits of yarn!

At the story level, Jellona Suuri’s interest lies in the tragic fate of a stuffed animal: will a growing child abandon the beloved companion? Pressured by his owner’s increasingly rough play, little Jellona wants to be bigger and more lion-like, until finally his visions start to frighten even himself. The story advances from form to form and feature to feature in a way that will arouse young reader’s feelings and desire to investigate. The text has a precise rhythm that perfectly supports the strong expression of the illustrations. This nostalgic picture book with its spirit of recycling is more than a sign of the times. It’s an artistic bull’s eye.

The 2010 Finlandia Prize for Non-Fiction nominees

Saara Bäck, Markku Ollikainen, Erik Bonsdorff, Annukka Eriksson, Eeva-Liisa Hallanaro, Sakari Kuikka, Markku Viitasalo, Mari Walls (ed.): Itämeren tulevaisuus ("The future of the Baltic", Gaudeamus)

Itämeren tulevaisuus takes a multidisciplinary approach to the Baltic Sea and it’s preservation with articles by experts in numerous fields, not neglecting the cultural perspective. The Baltic Sea is a body of water whose condition effects over 85 million people. For many of the Baltic states the Baltic is the only sea connection and a navigable route for cultural exchange.

At the moment, the consequences of cultural influences seem to be negative ones: the Baltic is a dumping ground for the nations and people who surround it. This book clarifies the challenges to conservation and gives numerous concrete suggestions and points of view on the protection of the Baltic.

The book is clearly written, the illustrations and diagrams elucidate the text, and it is a good and timely example of researchers fulfilling their responsibility to improve the condition of the environment.

Harry Halén (publisher): Gustaf Mannerheim: Dagbok förd under min resa i Centralasien och Kina 1906-07-08 ("Log book of my two years of travel in Central Asia and China, 1906-07-08", Svenska litteratursällskapet i Finland & Atlantis)

The daily journals of [marshal, president] Gustaf Mannerheim’s two years of travel in China and Central Asia as an officer of the tsar have previously been available only in condensed form.

This publication of the nearly 1200 page journal in its entirety encompasses Mannerheim’s daily notekeeping as well as more personal reminiscences, drawings, notes on Chinese vocabulary, and detailed information about the equipment required for the trip. Of the approximately thousand photographs that Mannerheim took, 170 are included, many of them reproduced here for the first time.

These journals present the multifaceted quality of Mannerheim’s activities in Asia. Sent to work as a cartographer for Russia, Mannerheim also made anthropological observations and acquired a collection of objects to bring back to Finland. His notes also reveal the true nature of the trip. It was an espionage mission disguised as a research expedition, with the goal of serving Russia’s expansionist goals in China.

In these entries, the real person is presented better than in the memoirs of the military commander and great man published decades later. The technically brilliant photos bring out the hardships of the journey, but also its excitement and an interest in the people met along the way.

Publisher Harry Halén, an expert on Central Asian languages and cultures, shows a thorough control of his subject.

Sirpa Kähkönen: Vihan ja rakkauden liekit. Kohtalona 1930-luvun Suomi ("The flames of love and hate. 1930s Finland: a destiny", Otava)

Author Sirpa Kähkönen has written a biography of her grandfather Lauri Tuomainen (1904-1971) through which she tells the story of his contemporaries and their fates. Many lost their lives and Tuomainen, who participated in Red Army officer’s training in Leningrad, found himself accused of treason and suffered through a seven year sentence at Tammisaari labor camp.

The book connects the polarisation of society, the persecution of communists and the political imprisonments of the 1920s and 30s to the story of Kähkönen’s family. The author has conducted thorough research from original sources, which can be seen in her bibliography, which is nine pages long and includes writings from the estate of her grandfather and other contemporary accounts.

In telling this delicate and touching story, Kähkönen doesn’t take either faction’s side. Her descriptions of life in the Tammisaari penal institution are innocent of any black and white approach to the subject, although her sympathies are with the prisoners. The Flames of Love and Hate reads like a novel because the text is as elegant as a work of fiction. It is a way of writing that is too often missing in Finnish nonfiction.

Tatu Lehtovaara: Suomalaiset kalaherkut ("Delicious Finnish fish"). Photos by Jukka Heiskanen (Otava)

Chef Tatu Lehtovaara’s Suomalaiset kalaherkut presents a varied selection of often overlooked possibilities for preparing Finnish fish. The first fifth of the book gives basic instruction in seasoning and cooking fish. At the end of the book is a guide to handling fish, including how to scale, skin, fillet, etc. presented in easy-to-understand words and pictures. The rest of the book offers recipes.

Suomalaiset kalaherkut contains a lot of information for beginning fishers as well as home cooks. In addition to main dishes, there are also recipes for soups and sauces, side dishes and appetizers, including up-to-date, exotically seasoned dishes. It’s basic message, however, is that to prepare local fish at its best you don’t need anything but good, fresh fish and salt. Olavi Hankimo’s economical layout complements the text.

Anssi Ruusuvuori: Puukon historia ("A history of the Puukko knife", Apali)

Architect and knife maker Anssi Ruusuvuori’s History of the Puukko is the most extensive work to date on traditional Finnish puukko knives and their origins. The book is 700 pages long, with approximately 2000 illustrations. In addition to authoring the book, Ruusuvuori has also designed its layout.

The book explains the technical development and use of the puukko in Finland beginning with the Stone Age. What is the source of the esteem in which the puukko is held around the world?

Puukon historia also compares the development of knives in Finland to that in other parts of Europe in various time periods and explains the terminology of the puukko and of knives generally. What is the difference between a puukko and an ordinary knife?

The book offers precise information about the technical characteristics of different styles of puukko, but also doesn’t neglect the puukko as an aesthetic object. The greater part of the book is dedicated to high-quality, detailed illustrations.

Vesa Sirén: Suomalaiset kapellimestarit: Sibeliuksesta Saloseen, Kajanuksesta Franckiin ("Finnish Conductors: from Sibelius to Salonen and Kajanus to Franck", Otava)

Music critic Vesa Sirén’s Finnish Conductors is a thorough work on the trademark Finnish skill at leading an orchestra and its origins. The book also describes the birth of Finnish classical orchestra culture and its influential artists and personalities.

The book is based on a wide selection of original sources and interviews. The interview segments add the conductors’ and musical leaders’ own voices and humor to the book’s well-written text, which makes it more readable than previous works on the subject and brings the people it describes closer to the reader.

The book is also a portrait of the birth of Finnish cultural identity and the Finnish specialisation in conducting, which created an international demand for their expertise long before any thought of national “branding”.