The Nordic Reader

On the corner of Nervanderinkatu and Dagmarinkatu in central Helsinki, you’ll find the Arkadia International Bookshop. As you enter the shop, you will find yourself in a large, cosy room, with couches, a piano, and floor to ceiling bookshelves on every wall. The store sells second hand books, mostly in English, both fiction and non-fiction.  But if you explore, you will enter a maze, with room after room of books in multiple languages, including Swedish, Finnish, French, Spanish, German, Russian, and Hungarian. But perhaps the most iconic feature is the store's owner, Ian Bourgeot. In today’s episode of The Nordic Reader, we are joined by Ian to discuss Diego Marani’s novel, New Finnish Grammar.  Published by Daedalus books and translated into English by Judith Landry, New Finnish Grammar was shortlisted for the 2012 Independent Foreign Fiction Prize and the 2012 Best Translated Book Award. Set during World War II, the novel follows a young man who wakes up in a doctor’s office in Trieste having suffered a catastrophic head injury. He cannot remember anything. The attending doctor, Friari, is a Finn living in Germany whose family had fled their homeland following its civil war.  Finding a Finnish name sewn into the young man’s jacket, Dr Friari assumes he is Finnish. As he recovers, Friari begins to teach him Finnish, hoping that his memories will return with the language. Soon Friari arranges for the young man to travel to Helsinki.  There he befriends the eccentric priest Olaf Koskela, and the lovely nurse Ilma, as he continues to search for his place in the world. Books Mentioned:New Finnish Grammar - Diego MaraniDiary of a Bookseller - Shaun BythellThe Magic Mountain - Thomas MannJourney into Freedom - Klaus MannThe Retrospective - AB Yehoshua Naufrage/Small Boat - Vincent Delecroix Apeirogon - Colum McCann Tokyo Express - Seichō MatsumotoKaputt - Curzio Malaparte Guest: Ian BourgeotProducer and Host: Mia Todd Co-host: Francis NealeEditing and Marketing: Hanna Todd

In today’s episode of The Nordic Reader we are joined by Daniel Seton to discuss Giuliano da Empoli’s novel, The Wizard of the Kremlin. The Editorial Director at Pushkin Press, Daniel acquired and published the English translation in the UK. Originally published in French, The Wizard of the Kremlin is translated by Willard Wood. The Wizard of the Kremlin is a fictionalised account inspired by a real person, one of Vladimir Putin’s most important advisors who is thought to be responsible for much of the strategy behind Putin’s rise to power in Russia. In da Empoli’s novel, the unnamed narrator - a student doing some research on Yevgeny Zamyatin - is travelling in Moscow when he is invited to meet the enigmatic Vadim Baranov. Putin’s right hand man and head of propaganda, Baranov is a master of theatre and performance. He knows exactly how to spin a story, how to control the narrative, and how to build an empire. He has recently retired and retreated from the public eye. And while he scoffs at the idea of writing his memoirs, Baranov shares his story with the narrator. Starting in Soviet era Russia, Baranov draws back the curtain on the truth of power and democracy, the role of technology and propaganda in Vladimir Putin’s rise to power, and the events and decisions that established Russian politics as we know them today.Giuliano da Empoli is an Italian-Swiss political scientist, who was once a senior advisor to the Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, and is now a professor at Sciences Po in Paris. The book has been translated into 36 languages, and has a been made into a film which premiered at the 2025 Venice film festival. Books Mentioned: The Wizard of the Kremlin - Giuliano da EmpoliThe Hour of the Predator - Giuliano da EmpoliAt Night All Blood is Black - David DiopStrange Houses - UketsuOur Wild Garden - Daniel Seton, illustrated by Pieter FannesWilding - Isabella Tree The Wasp Factory - Ian Banks The Mask of Dimitrios - Eric AmblerSovietistan - Erika Fatland Nothing to See Here - Kevin WilsonNow Is Not the Time to Panic - Kevin WilsonGuest: Daniel SetonProducer and Host: Mia ToddCo-host: Francis Neale Editing and Marketing: Hanna Todd 

In this first episode of The Nordic Reader, we are joined by author Juhani Karila to discuss his novel Summer Fishing in Lapland (is more dangerous than you think). The book is translated into English by Lola Rogers. Originally published in Finnish in 2019, the novel has now been translated into more than 20 languages. It is published by Pushkin Press in the UK and by Restless Books in the US, where it appears under the title Fishing for the Little Pike (is more dangerous than you think). In the novel we follow Elina, a young Finnish woman who is cursed. Every summer she returns to her childhood home in Lapland, where she must catch the pike that lives in a nearby pond – or she will die! But this year Elina’s attempt doesn’t quite go to plan. She must race against the clock to defeat the curse, while being followed by a host of strange mythical creatures, and a homicide detective who suspects her of murder. Join us as we talk about the quirky, magical world of Juhani’s novel, humour and heartbreak in Lapland, and Juhani’s experience with translation. Books Mentioned: Summer Fishing in Lapland (is more dangerous than you think)/Fishing for the Little Pike (is more dangerous than you think) by Juhani KarilaThe Shining by Stephen King Piranesi by Susanna Clarke The End of Drum Time by Hanna PylväinenThe Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway Beasts of the Sea by Iida TurpeinenGuest: Juhani KarilaProducer and Host: Mia Todd Co-host: Francis NealeEditing and Marketing: Hanna Todd