Author: Leena Krohn
Finnish original: Näköisyys
Publisher: Teos, 2026
Genre: literary fiction
Number of pages: 157 pp.
Reading material: Finnish original, full Swedish translation
Rights sold: Hungarian, Polar
About the authority of images and the power of gaze.
A quiet, unassuming, and not very talented painter who goes by the name of Horkka works in a small art studio, mentored by a much more famous artist, Lysander. The latter is constantly busy or away, so Horkka gets tasked with taking over some of his less-important jobs: portraits commissioned by various people.
Followed by Horkka’s sensitive gaze, a colourful array of characters settle down to pose: a writer, a judge, an influencer, a guru, a hitman, Therian sisters, AI, a gentleman of dreamless sleep… Horkka patiently listens to each of them until the portrait is done or – more often than not – the session gets interrupted. Will the portraits please their owners? Will they reflect the likeness? In her newest novel, legendary author Leena Krohn ponders what gaze is and what does it actually mean to see someone
About the author
Leena Krohn