The Soul Painter’s Evening

By Joel Haahtela

A captivating, timeless novel that conjures up a painter’s inner life by the Finlandia- and Runeberg Prize-nominated author.
 
An unnamed, aging Master painter in Golden Age Holland works on a painting he forbids anyone from seeing before ascending in the evening up to his attic to record his thoughts in his diary. On the encouragement of his friends, the Master agrees to take on one last appren­tice, Jacob, a promising young man who is commissioned to paint the portrait of a wealthy silk merchant. Supervising Ja­cob’s instinctive brushtrokes, the Master begins to feel the return of a long-lost spark of joy in his heart. But one fateful night, a devastating fire breaks out in the town and sets the course of everyone’s lives on a new course.

In this intimate and beautiful narrative that glows like a flame in the darkness, Joel Haahtela, in his pared-back style, ren­ders a beautiful, succinct work in which the laws of light and the art of painting are most often found in the proximity of another person.

 
Reading Material:

Finnish edition and PDF
English synopsis
Sample translation 45pp.

Publishing information

About the author

Joel Haahtela (b. 1972) is an author and psychiatrist. He was inspired to specialise in psychiatry after reading Oliver Sacks’ book The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat.The author has been recognized with two Finlandia Prize nominations and has also been nominated for the Runeberg Prize for literature two times. People’s stories are important to him in both of his professions, and the self is a key theme in his writing. Haahtela aspires to understand the human condition and the meaning of people’s own decisions in their lives. His parallel careers complement each other very well and Haahtela believes he will never stop writing. When he was still a student, Joel Haahtela published a collection of short stories titled Unicum Zwack together with friends. These short stories gave him the impetus to write a novel during his studies. His debut novel, Twice Disappeared, was published in the spring of 1999.In 2023, Joel Haahtela was awarded the Veijo Meri prize, a recognition by the Otava Literary Foundation for significant efforts in Finnish literature.