Juhani Karila has earned a spot in literature rankings of this year’s best translated works across the English-speaking world. His latest novel has been published in English by Pushkin Press for the UK with the title Summer Fishing in Lapland, and by Restless Books for the US with the title Fishing For the Little Pike.
Stunning news for our author Juhani Karila: his latest novel has taken the English-speaking world by storm and has earned a spot in several rankings of this year’s best translated works. Karila’s novel is out with Pushkin Press as Summer Fishing in Lapland in the UK and as Fishing for the Little Pike with Restless Books in the US.
On the British newspaper Daily Mail, literary critic Jamie Buxton has picked Summer Fishing in Lapland (Pushkin) as the book of the year. Buxton stated as follows: “I loved this off-kilter tale of myth and mundanity — a deep dive into a morass of Finnish folklore and small-town life. A coming-home story and a coming-to-terms story of grief and monsters, as Elina must face down old transgressions to catch a pike and save a life.”
On World Literature Today magazine, Michelle Johnson has featured Karila’s Fishing For the Little Pike in the 75 Notable Translations 2023 list. Karila is in the excellent company of, among others, Nobel-prize winners Annie Ernaux and Jon Fosse, and of fellow Finnish author Pirkko Saisio.
Fishing For the Little Pike also earned a spot on the EuropeNow literary journal, where it is featured in the 2023 Favorite Books in Translation list. Also featured in the list are Jon Fosse’s A Shining, Dino Buzzati’s The Stronghold and Arto Paasilinna’s The Year of the Hare.
Fishing For the Little Pike, which is Karila’s debut novel, has been a literary sensation since its publication in 2019 by Finnish publisher Siltala. The rights have been sold to 17 territories, and the book has been adapted into a theatre play in Finland.
Warm congratulations to the author and the publishers!