Merja Mäki’s novel Before the Birds about Karelian refugees in 1940 became horribly topical with Russia’s attack on Ukraine. Now the novel has gotten its first foreign edition in Sweden – and it is on stage for the first time in Finland.
Before the Birds by Merja Mäki was published in Swedish translation in mid-October (as Innan fåglarna vänder åter, translated by Mattias Huss) by Historiska Media, a beautiful Lund-based publishing house specialising in history and novel set in historical periods.
Vi Läser (‘We Read’), a literary magazine only focusing on books and literary world, reviewed Mäki’s debut with high praise. Literary critic Yukiko Duke stated that “a couple of years ago this book was all my Finnish friends spoke about, men and women, young and old. It is now easy to understand their enthusiasm. […] It is an incredibly well narrated story of the brutality of the war and the pain of being in exile.”
Also BTJ library magazine praised the novel:
“Mäki’s novel is a great reading experience. The story is extremely well drafted, exciting – what will happen? – and is driven by a language which is as clear as spring water. In an absolutely brilliant way Before the Birds paints a picture of peoples’ fight for life in bad times.”
Out also in audio, the novel (read by actress Stina Ekblad), has been collecting glowing reviews, achieving a 4.5/5 rating.
In Finland, Before the Birds has been recently adapted into a play, currently on the scene at the Seinäjoki city theatre, with shows all throughout the winter. The play has been received with critical acclaim, praising both the acting and the fresh choreography of the play.
The title has been sold in addition to Sweden so far also to Ukraine and France. In Finland it has been a bestseller, and it is the winner of the Torch-bearer Prize in 2022. A new book by Mäki, a stand-alone novel set in the same historical setting, will come out in early 2024.