The Red Book of Farewells
The Red Book of Farewells
by Pirkko Saisio
translated from the Finnish by Mia Spangenberg
Two Lines Press
Pirkko Saisio’s autofictional novel, in Mia Spangenberg’s tender translation from Finnish, is a mesmerizing account of radical politics and sexual awakening in a series of farewells—to her mother, to the idealism of youth, to friends and lovers, and finally to her grown daughter. The novel embeds readers in a delirious Finland, where art and communist politics are hopelessly intertwined, and where queer love, still a crime, thrives in underground bars. Playful and mysterious, The Red Book of Farewells stoically embraces the revolutionary potential of moving on.