One of the new titles on our Spring catalogue, Fictional by J.P. Laitinen received Tampere City Literature Prize!
As the jury stated:
“Laitinen’s debut novel Fictional follows, for a time-frame of one day, the main protagonist who is developing a theory of a fictional human and believes to have found an explanation to the human mind and reality. The novel is contemplative, satirical and humorous, and encourages its readers to think about reality and its boundaries. For its various levels and perspectives, Fictional is a book that can be immediately read again.“
J.P. Laitinen has previously published books of nonfiction and worked as an environmental journalist. Fictional is his debut novel and a fierce, unapologetically philosophical and psychological story of a day of manifold losses and their denial, and of the desire to see the world the way you want it to be. Through the character of Henry Qualia, Laitinen merges philosophical boldness with an enormous tenderness toward other people. It has been compared to the works of such authors as Fyodor Dostoevsky, Peter Handke and Thomas Bernhard.
Tampere City Literature Prize has been awarded since 1944. It is given yearly for an outstanding work of fiction to a writer that is either born in Tampere city or lives there at the moment.
Congratulations to the author!