In Transit Hannele Mikaela Taivassalo

In Transit

By Hannele Mikaela Taivassalo

When she was younger, Galadriel, G, lay on the floor in the yellow house and dreamt of New Orleans, The North Pole and of wonderful places close to the equator. She left as soon as she could, set her life in London for a while, then in Los Angeles, then Bombay. But now she has returned to her childhood village: she is back in the yellow house, and has brought The Stranger with her. Is she capable of sharing her life? Vera, another returnee, is also back in the same yellow house, behind a thin wall from G, sharing the lush garden. She had left this village decades ago, to lead her own life in the capital. Now longing is her only companion. In the same village, upstairs of a house that he built with his owns hands, lies Sem. He is quiet in his bed, but no one knows how far away he really is, and how much further he actually has been. All three of them – Galadriel, Vera and Sem – have loved passionately, desired the forbidden, transformed irrevocably.

Publishing information

Page count

471

Original title

In Transit

Original language

Swedish

Original publisher

Förlaget

Rights sold

  • English Worldwide

About the author

Hannele Mikaela Taivassalo (b. 1974) is one of the most exciting and fresh literary authors in Finland today. Her unique, feminine voice, the distinct spark in her writing, and the exceptional sensitivity to rhythm in her language make her truly stand out.Taivassalo, who has been awarded several prizes, writes originally in Swedish. In her novels, Taivassalo explores the themes of continuous movement, of leaving, of restlessness and displacement, but also of the joy of discovering. She writes about desire and sex exceptionally well and excels in describing the erotic charge between her characters.Taivassalo has published several novels, worked in theatre, written plays and studied at the Theatre Academy, as well as at the University of Helsinki. Among other prizes, she has been awarded The Runeberg prize for her first novel, Andrej Krapi's Five Knives (2007), and Finlandspris (from a Swedish culture fund) in 2017 for her “unique authorship”, her “novels with unexpected twists” and for “detailed, lyric and impressionistic prose”.

Author page

Reviews

"Bodily love is the greatest of all forces, but almost as charming is the continuous journey. One has to leave again and again, leaving behind all the old; going anywhere, as long as there is movement. As the world has come to a standstill in the midst of a pandemic, In Transit and its numerous travel descriptions provide a comforting escape."

Helsingin Sanomat newspaper, Finland

”IN TRANSIT is filled with beautiful expressions and erotic charge. But it is also a story about departures and difficult choices. What it is like to be the other woman, what it is like not to tolerate oneself, and how to set limits for oneself.”

Bloggen Söstra Mi

”The language is so beautiful that even ejaculation on the inner thigh sounds like the most tasteful and the most fulfilling cupcake”

Svenska Yle

”In Transit is a major postmodern novel”

Österbottens Tidning

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