White Hunger

White Hunger

What does it take to survive? This is the question posed by the extraordinary Finnish novella that has taken the Nordic literary scene by storm.<br /><br />1867: a year of devastating famine in Finland. Marja, a farmer’s wife from the north, sets off on foot through the snow with her two young children. Their goal: St Petersburg, where people say there is bread. Others are also heading south, just as desperate to survive. Ruuni, a boy she meets, seems trustworthy. But can anyone really help?<br /><br />Why Peirene chose to publish this book: ‘Like Cormac McCarthy’s<em>The Road</em>, this apocalyptic story deals with the human will to survive. And let me be honest: There will come a point in this book where you can take no more of the snow-covered desolation. But then the first rays of spring sun appear and our belief in the human spirit revives. A stunning tale.’<strong>Meike Ziervogel</strong><br /><br />‘<em>White Hunger</em>is Aki Ollikainen’s debut work, but it is written with the control of someone who has mastered the form.’<strong>Nicholas Lezard,<em>Guardian</em></strong><br /><br />‘Such a powerful, honest and thought-provoking story deserves an audience far beyond the shores of Scandinavia.’<strong>Pam Norfolk,<em>Lancashire Evening Post</em></strong><br /><br />‘Impossible not to respond to its raw, unsparing drama.’<strong>Elizabeth Bucan,<em>Daily Mail</em></strong><br /><br />‘A tale of epic substance compacted into a mere seven-score pages.’<strong>Ben Paynter,<em>Los Angeles Review of Books</em></strong>