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A review by mafiabadgers
Leena Krohn: The Collected Fiction by Leena Krohn
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Doña Quixote and Other Citizens. Portrait (Tales of the citizens of an unusual city) (1983, trans. by Hildi Hawkins), first read 04/2024, 5 stars
What is this book about? I cannot say. There are several characters, I suppose, and it takes place in a city (a magical-realist take on Helsinki, apparently), and some events that may or may not be connected. Superb.
Tainaron. Mail from Another City (1985, trans. by Hildi Hawkins), first read 11/2023, 5 stars
The first Leena Krohn that I read, and so good I picked up this eight-hundred-something page monstrosity. Divided into thirty segments, each one a letter from an unnamed narrator staying in a city of insects. No plot to speak of, just a series of moments: some moving, some unsettling, all of them beautiful.
Gold of Ophir (1987, trans. by Hildi Hawkins), first read 08/2024, 3 stars
A series of incidents in the life of someone who spends a lot of time at the Tabernacle, an artists' colony (or, perhaps, an asylum, if you think the narrator is that unreliable). When I started this one, I read too quickly. This was clumsy, and a mistake. Once I slowed down, the moments began to connect, to enjoy a more thematic continuity. Deserves a reread.
Pereat Mundus: A Novel of Sorts (1998, trans. by Hildi Hawkins), first read 09/2024, 5 stars
Another mosaic novel, as Krohn calls her disjointed technique, another difficult book to review. Has anyone ever told her what a plot is? Presumably not. It doesn't seem to hold her back. More futuristic, more technological, but while this book is ostensibly about endings of the world that may or may not occur, it is, of course, a book about people. I made sure to take my time over this one, pausing after each chapter, and I'm glad I did. It's not quite so coherent as Tainaron or Gold of Ophir, being almost totally devoid of recurring characters (having a guy named Håkan in each story doesn't quite count, I think), although the framing device of Dr Fakelove does a remarkable job of pulling it all together at the eleventh hour, and without which I think I would have to knock it down a star.
Datura, or A Figment Seen by Everyone (2002, trans. by Anna Volmari and J. Robert Tupasela), first read 11/2024, 4 stars
Leena Krohn writing drug literature! Oh, lucky me. Her mosaic style works very well for exploring one of her favourite themes, the nature of reality, and lends itself well to the fractured life of the habitual user. Unfortunately, in this instance, it doesn't quite come together—it's a little too easy to dismiss the narrator's experiences as simply the result of datura, though the story troubles this reading towards the end (which is excellent). Nonetheless, like the rest of Krohn's work, there are many moments that are extraordinarily affecting if one grants them the opportunity to be so.
The Pelican's New Clothes (A story from the city) (1976, trans. by Bethany Fox), first read 12/2024, 5 stars
The contents page identifies this as children's fiction, and it's not wrong, but it's one of those books that feels a bit too good to give to children. A little like Alan Garner in that respect. Emil is a strange character; in some ways he feels much younger than his given age, so his burgeoning sexuality makes for a strong contrast, but it works well, I think. It has some very moving sections dealing with homesickness and adolescence. Perhaps as a result of the translation, it has a slightly stilted feel to it, but is a very impressive work nonetheless.
Short Stories and Excerpts from Larger Works
I read these well before I got Storygraph, so I'm exempting myself from a proper review. They were generally decent, but without the thematic interconnectedness of the longer pieces they're not Krohn's best work (at least as they're presented here).
What is this book about? I cannot say. There are several characters, I suppose, and it takes place in a city (a magical-realist take on Helsinki, apparently), and some events that may or may not be connected. Superb.
Tainaron. Mail from Another City (1985, trans. by Hildi Hawkins), first read 11/2023, 5 stars
The first Leena Krohn that I read, and so good I picked up this eight-hundred-something page monstrosity. Divided into thirty segments, each one a letter from an unnamed narrator staying in a city of insects. No plot to speak of, just a series of moments: some moving, some unsettling, all of them beautiful.
Gold of Ophir (1987, trans. by Hildi Hawkins), first read 08/2024, 3 stars
A series of incidents in the life of someone who spends a lot of time at the Tabernacle, an artists' colony (or, perhaps, an asylum, if you think the narrator is that unreliable). When I started this one, I read too quickly. This was clumsy, and a mistake. Once I slowed down, the moments began to connect, to enjoy a more thematic continuity. Deserves a reread.
Pereat Mundus: A Novel of Sorts (1998, trans. by Hildi Hawkins), first read 09/2024, 5 stars
Another mosaic novel, as Krohn calls her disjointed technique, another difficult book to review. Has anyone ever told her what a plot is? Presumably not. It doesn't seem to hold her back. More futuristic, more technological, but while this book is ostensibly about endings of the world that may or may not occur, it is, of course, a book about people. I made sure to take my time over this one, pausing after each chapter, and I'm glad I did. It's not quite so coherent as Tainaron or Gold of Ophir, being almost totally devoid of recurring characters (having a guy named Håkan in each story doesn't quite count, I think), although the framing device of Dr Fakelove does a remarkable job of pulling it all together at the eleventh hour, and without which I think I would have to knock it down a star.
Datura, or A Figment Seen by Everyone (2002, trans. by Anna Volmari and J. Robert Tupasela), first read 11/2024, 4 stars
Leena Krohn writing drug literature! Oh, lucky me. Her mosaic style works very well for exploring one of her favourite themes, the nature of reality, and lends itself well to the fractured life of the habitual user. Unfortunately, in this instance, it doesn't quite come together—it's a little too easy to dismiss the narrator's experiences as simply the result of datura, though the story troubles this reading towards the end (which is excellent). Nonetheless, like the rest of Krohn's work, there are many moments that are extraordinarily affecting if one grants them the opportunity to be so.
The Pelican's New Clothes (A story from the city) (1976, trans. by Bethany Fox), first read 12/2024, 5 stars
The contents page identifies this as children's fiction, and it's not wrong, but it's one of those books that feels a bit too good to give to children. A little like Alan Garner in that respect. Emil is a strange character; in some ways he feels much younger than his given age, so his burgeoning sexuality makes for a strong contrast, but it works well, I think. It has some very moving sections dealing with homesickness and adolescence. Perhaps as a result of the translation, it has a slightly stilted feel to it, but is a very impressive work nonetheless.
Short Stories and Excerpts from Larger Works
I read these well before I got Storygraph, so I'm exempting myself from a proper review. They were generally decent, but without the thematic interconnectedness of the longer pieces they're not Krohn's best work (at least as they're presented here).