Amanda’s Worlds

An astonishing story of moral and altruism
Amanda has spent a sheltered and peaceful life in a small house on the outskirts of a town. When she meets a young refugee, Amanda wants to help him in his distress. She doesn’t realise that at the same time she is putting her own life in jeopardy.

The literary jewel Amanda’s Worlds reads like a thriller. It is related to Sahlberg’s previous acclaimed novella, The Many Deaths of Irina. The focus is on people who have fled because of war, and on the difficulty in understanding the world surrounding us. The reader is challenged with the question: what are our morals and what is our capacity to face the violence growing from cultures alien to us?

Publishing information

Year of publication

2017

Page count

150

Original title

Amandan maailmat

Original language

Finnish

Original publisher

Awards & nominations

Nominations

2017

Savonia Literature Prize

2017

Runeberg Prize

About the author

Asko Sahlberg (b. 1964) is one of the most distinguished contemporary Finnish authors. He has been living in Sweden, near Gothenburg, since 1996.Sahlberg writes both dense and intense novellas, and large-scale fresco-type narratives on historic subjects. He excels at discussing profound and timeless issues and contemporary problems alike.

Author page

Reviews

“Asko Sahlberg’s novella Amanda's worlds is a modern legend of a saint, observing the formation of a community, cultural differences, and altruism in a world where lights are about to go off. Sahlberg's expressive language depicts an apocalyptic reality and the rich inner world of Amanda. This woman's life story makes a deep impression. The social aspect and the human ethos in Sahlberg’s writing resemble another Finnish master, namely Aki Kaurismäki.”

Runerberg Prize Jury