The Butterfly Collector

By Joel Haahtela

A fascinating story of the capricious way in which our fates entwine…

A man receives a letter from a solicitor in which he learns he has inherited a house and a certain amount of money. The legacy derives from the will of one Henri Ruzicka, a German who had settled in Finland and whose name and person are completely unknown to the narrator.

When the man travels to see the house, he discovers among the effects a huge butterfly collection, a pile of personal diaries, and correspondence from a woman in Germany named Anna Prinz. The letters and diary entries lead the man on a journey to the south of Europe and also into the past, where the resolution of one riddle leads only to many others.

The Butterfly Collector is a lyrical meditation on how our identity and memories are constructed as the basis of the moment. The novel’s atmosphere has an exceptionally enchanting effect.

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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.