Lola
Lola Rogers has been translating Finnish literature since 2007. She has translated dozens of novels, short stories, poems, essays, comics, and children’s books.
Lola’s work has been shortlisted for the 2016 Oxford-Weidenfeld Translation Prize and the 2016 Petrona Award for Nordic crime fiction. Her translation of Johanna Sinisalo’s The Core of the Sun won the 2017 Prometheus Award.
Visit Lola’s CV page for more information, check out her work on this site, or send her a message through our contact page.
Selected translations:
Fishing for the Little Pike, by Juhani Karila
Pushkin Press, London, 2023 (UK title Summer Fishing in Lapland)
“Full of natural wonders… Juhani Karila’s Summer Fishing in Lapland has a wonderfully zany energy.” – The Independent, Books of the Month feature
“Portrays the Finnish region of Lapland as a place where folktales and fairies are part of normal life… This twisted love letter to the rural region leaves a lasting impression.” – Publisher’s Weekly
“Unutterably enchanting and utterly bonkers.” – Financial Times
2023 IAFA Crawford Award honorable mention
2023 Indies Book of the Year finalist
More about Fishing for the Little Pike
Purge, by Sofi Oksanen
Grove / Atlantic, New York, 2010
“A compelling look at what we do to survive.”– Karen R. Long, Cleveland Plain Dealer
“Purge is a flawed, brilliant piece of work that does not easily relinquish its grip on the reader’s imagination.” – Joan Smith, The Times of London
“Out of these immensely sensitive materials, Oksanen has crafted a stirring and humane work of art.” – Jacob Silverman, The New Republic
A best book of 2010 in The California Literary Review, The Sunday Times, The L Magazine, and others
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When the Doves Disappeared, by Sofi Oksanen
Vintage, New York, 2015
Atlantic Books, London, 2015
“A piercing look at characters striving to retain their humanity amid fear, violence, and secrecy.” – The New Yorker
“Powerful fiction that stirs history, war crimes, and psychology into a compelling mix.” – Booklist
“Highly recommended.” – Library Journal
On The Independent‘s list of the 14 best translations of 2015
Best books of the year, The Guardian and The Globe and Mail
Finalist for the 2016 Oxford-Wiedenfeld Translation Prize
More about When the Doves Disappeared
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The Core of the Sun, by Johanna Sinisalo
Grove Atlantic, New York, 2016
“Ignores both genre boundaries and reader expectations, combining a grim dystopian setting with an almost mystical appreciation for — of all things — really hot chili peppers.” – Chicago Tribune
“Readers seeking a reliable, strong, female narrator won’t be disappointed. The narrator’s funny, sad, punk voice is unforgettable.” – Library Journal
“The best dystopian fiction I’ve read in a very long while.” – Seattle Review of Books
Winner of the 2017 Prometheus Award.
More about The Core of the Sun
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The Blood of Angels, by Johanna Sinisalo
Peter Owen, London, 2014
“A gorgeous, heartbreaking tale of three generations of men trying to define their relationship with nature and one another in the wake of ecological collapse.” – Washington Post
“Stunning prose takes the reader down a twisting path between gritty ecoterrorism and another world, with winged messengers leading the way.” – Library Journal
“At a time when much of science fiction has been criticized for being bland, uncommitted or retrospective, Johanna Sinisalo’s The Blood of Angels is a raw, gritty, angry book that is actually about something… I passionately admire this book.” – Strange Horizons
More about The Blood of Angels
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The Rabbit Back Literature Society, by Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen
Pushkin Press, London, 2013
Thomas Dunne, New York, 2015
“Unexpected, thrilling and absurd.” – Daily Telegraph
“It’s hard to convey the peculiar atmosphere of this novel – absurd but believable, sinister but enjoyable, beautiful but disquieting… (and hats off to Lola Rogers for an elegant, literary and readable translation).” – The Independent
“A unique vein of fantasy-realism unlike anything else you’ve ever read.” – SFX Magazine
An A.V. Club favorite book of 2015
More about The Rabbit Back Literature Society
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Secret Passages in a Hillside Town, by Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen
Pushkin Press, London, 2017
“A tremendous, haunting book, full of bitter pain and starry-eyed wonder.” – SFX (5 stars)
“Strange and beguiling, luring its readers in with quirkiness and charm only to beckon them towards more sinister depths.” – Alistair Mabbot, Glasgow Herald
“Delightful, magical, inventive.” – The National
More about Secret Passages in a Hillside Town
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Compartment No 6, by Rosa Liksom
Serpent’s Tail, London, 2014
Graywolf Press, Minneapolis, 2016
“Compartment No. 6 unfolds like a poem… a fantastical vision of a populace somehow muddling through a world where every engine repeatedly breaks down.” – Minneapolis Star-Tribune
“Serious travelogue, with cleverly veiled layers of commentary on the crumbling Soviet Union.” – The Lady
“A twilight-hued elegy to the sickly last days of a wicked empire.” – Wall Street Journal
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The Colonel’s Wife, by Rosa Liksom
Graywolf Press, Minneapolis, 2019
“An intimate investigation of authoritarianism.” – Kirkus
“All the more thought-provoking and heart-rending in our current strained sociopolitical moment. . . . The Colonel’s Wife is equal parts horrifying and fascinating.” – Salon
“Rosa Liksom’s novel is amazing, powerful, and remarkable, and everyone should read it.” – Sherry Jones, The Historical Novel Society
More about The Colonel’s Wife
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Dark As My Heart, by Antti Tuomainen
Harvill Secker, London, 2015
“Tuomainen’s style combines raw poetry with truly disturbing terror. ” – Crime Review UK
“Dark, captivating and troubling.” – Crime Fiction Lover
“One of the most compelling, emotionally satisfying and beautifully realised crime thrillers that I have encountered this year.” – Raven Crime Reads
Finalist for the 2016 Petrona Award
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The Healer, by Antti Tuomainen
Vintage, UK; Henry Holt, US
“It’s no accident that Antti Tuomainen’s protagonist is a poet. As rendered in this sensitive translation from the Finnish by Lola Rogers, the book’s language is as important as the tension generated by the narrative.” – Barry Forshaw, The Independent
“This dystopian tale snagged the Clue Award for best Finnish crime novel of 2011, and U.S. audiences should prepare to be every bit as enthralled as the Finns… .“ – Christine Tran, Booklist (starred review)
“A fantastic introduction to a promising new name in Scandinavian Crime.” – Kate Wilson, Booktrust
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True, by Riikka Pulkkinen
“True is a beautiful novel about motherhood, longing and loss. It’s a dreamingly languid book full of gentle reveals, and it is extremely compelling.” – Freya Dumas, Lip Magazine
“Readers will find themselves captivated by something sublime existing somewhere between apologia and apology… Beautifully translated by Lola Rogers to capture the full chill of a Finnish winter and the lightness of its spring…” – Joseph Thompson, Foreword Reviews
“A beautiful, sensuous novel.” – Library Journal
A Shelf Unbound best book of 2012
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More information about Lola’s work can be found on her CV page.