The Explorer and Other Stories came to me in a storybundle, either of fantasy by foreign authors or of fantasy anthologies (I suspect the former). I very rarely hit something I don’t like in my storybundle, and this is a gem, translated from the original Finnish.
The Explorer & Other Stories
by Jyrki Vainonen
“The author shows an easy comfort with the odd and disturbing, and sympathy even with his less sympathetic protagonists. The translators have done a masterful job of presenting his work with clarity.” – Publishers Weekly…
This sly book showcases the quietly strange, unsettling short fiction of this acclaimed Finnish writer. Vainonen is renowned for his Finnish translations of the works of Seamus Heaney, Jonathan Swift, and William Shakespeare. Vainonen’s first collection of short stories was awarded the Helsingin Sanomat Literature Prize and his work has been featured in such iconic collections as the Dedalus Book of Finnish Fantasy.
This first English-language collection includes stories from Jyrki Vainonen’s three collections and is translated by J. Robert Tupasela and Anna Volmari, with one story translated by Hilde Hawkins. Introduction by Johanna Sinisalo. “Vainonen’s deceptively cool voice lured me into a world where horrors and wonders lurk just beneath the surface.” – Karin Tidbeck, Jagannath (Goodreads)
My Review
I had no idea what to expect of this volume, other than possibly short scandi-noir sort of fantasy, although that’s more usually Norwegian.
What I found was brilliant writing, set in somewhat other-worldly setting, but probably absolutely normal for Finland. Vainonen has an amazing imagination, which is, as a famous painter once said, like taking a line for a walk. Vainonen takes a situation, and sees where it takes him. I fancy that I do the same, but nowhere near as well.
If you like my weirder short stories, you will love these. At first, including The Explorer, I sometimes turned back a page or two to see if I was really reading this correctly, especially with the third story, simply entitled The Aquarium. Was the protagonist really immersed in an aquarium for several hours with no breathing apparatus? Once you accepted, yes, she was, the whole bizarre experience became more enjoyable and mysterious and…weirder.
Some of the tales developed plots you could anticipate, but the way they are delivered leaves you astonished all the same. I think The Garden falls into that category. And several of my friends will love the Library!
If you’ll happily go with fantasy that’s commonplace but weird, you’ll love these. I did.
When I think of weird writers, I think of Terry Pratchett.
I think there’s quite a difference between the genres, but I always have difficulty defining weird. Pratchett is pretty much mainstream fantasy, off beat, but not really weird. Maybe it’s a matter of where your nightmares take you. Hmm, weird is more like horror but not scary, mostly.
I’m usually good with weird, if it isn’t horror, and the hint about a library intrigues me…
Hi,
Tempted, and I can’t define weird either – shelves of Terry Pratchett live here. .
Much missed former neighbour is Finnish, now back there.
Busy packing for a reading/writing experiment in Scotland, with friends,
including the one who escaped to a log cabin in Lapland to write the last seven chapters of a book.
Esther.