The Explorer and Other Stories

Selected from several original short‑story collections.

 Contents:
Introduction by Johanna Sinisalo
The Explorer (Tutkimusmatkailija, 1999)
Blueberries (Mustikoita, 2001)
The Aquarium (Akvaario, 2007)
The Pearl (Helmi, 1999)
The Garden (Puutarha, 2007)
The Library (Kirjasto, 2007)
The Refrigerator (Kaappi, 2001)  

Publishers Weekly review: “The author shows an easy comfort with the odd and disturbing, and sympathy even with his less sympathetic protagonists. The translators have done a masterful job of presenting his work with clarity.”

This sly book showcases the quietly strange, unsettling short fiction of this acclaimed Finnish writer. Vainonen is renowned for his Finnish translations of the works of Seamus Heaney, Jonathan Swift, and William Shakespeare. Vainonen’s first collection of short stories was awarded the Helsingin Sanomat Literature Prize and his work has been featured in such iconic collections as the Dedalus Book of Finnish Fantasy. This first English-language collection includes stories from Jyrki Vainonen’s three collections and is translated by J. Robert Tupasela and Anna Volmari, with one story translated by Hilde Hawkins. Introduction by Johanna Sinisalo.

“Vainonen’s deceptively cool voice lured me into a world where horrors and wonders lurk just beneath the surface.” – Karin Tidbeck, Jagannath