Passion, the newest novel by Pirkko Saisio, is now travelling to Poland, where it will be published by Poznanskie. The deal has been brought to us by our Polish co-agents at Book/Lab.
Passion, the newest novel by author Pirkko Saisio is travelling to Poland, where it will be published by Poznanskie. This is the third language territory for this Finlandia-nominated title, that has already travelled to Estonia and the Czech Republic. The deal has been brought to us by our Polish co-agents at Book/lab.
Pirkko Saisio made history earlier this year with the Helsinki Trilogy by becoming the first contemporary Finnish author whose work will be published in the Penguin Modern Classics.
Passion, is an enchanting tale with the atmosphere of an arcane legend, and a Tarkovskian chronicle of Europe centered on life’s purpose and the search for meaning.
In Passion, it is the 16th century, and Florence is in the immediate aftermath of religious fanatic Savonarola’s death, and the nobility can go back to its ways. The Princess Vasari is especially happy to be able to wear the beautiful necklace her husband has gifted her. It is no ordinary necklace, and there is no peace for its keeper. The jewel, which holds the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil travels from owner to owner, and country to country, to Krakow and further north, ultimately to Finland.
Poznanskie is one of the leading publishers is Poland and the publisher of, among others, Iida Turpeinen‘s Beasts of the Sea.
The acquiring editor at Poznanskie Paulina Surniak said: “Passion is a rich tapestry of stories and settings, linked by an almost mythical, symbolic object. An intriguing book that can be read at many different levels. I’m very excited and can’t wait for the Polish edition.”
The translator Sebastian Musielak commented: [Reading] Pirkko Saisio’s Passio is like taking a rest from our gloom, overly politicized reality and swallowing a huge pill of pure reading joy. For me, this is Saisio the Storyteller at her best, who can ideally temper her language to the content and touch the most potent themes of humankind – love, death, regeneration – with unnerving power of a myth. I am very happy that Wydawnictwo Poznańskie have heard me and chosen Passio for their exquisite Scandinavian Series / Seria skandynawska.
Warmest congratulations to the author and the publisher!