Pearl by Kari Hotakainen has been sold to Hungary, where it will be published by Polar.
Pearl by Kari Hotakainen has begun its journey out into the world, as Polar has acquired the Hungarian rights.
In Pearl, a childless couple’s foraging trip takes an unexpected turn when they run into a confused elderly woman in the woods. From there, everyone’s life becomes bumpier and starts taking unexpected turns. Pearl is a fast-paced and humorous story that approaches tragic things with a warm, moving touch and asks a difficult question: If one loses control of one’s memories and life, what is there left to hold on to?
Hotakainen, one of the most accomplished and respected Finnish authors, takes the subjects of memory disease, identity and self, and involuntary childlessness and gives them his trademark, humorous and tragi-comic treatment. The publisher took an unprecedented first print run of 35 000 copies and the book has sold close to 10 000 copies in its first weeks out.
Kari Hotakainen has been awarded the Nordic Council’s Literature Prize, Finland’s biggest literary award, the Finlandia Prize, the Prix du Courrier International and the Prix Coup de Coeur, amongst others. His first nonfiction book, The Unknown Kimi Räikkönen (2018) is the best-selling Finnish nonfiction work of all time. Hotakainen’s works have sold over 700 000 copies in Finland.
Polar is a Hungarian publishing house specialised in Nordic literature. It is the Hungarian home of, among others, Iida Turpeinen‘s Beasts of the Sea, Antti Hurskainen‘s A Wooden Prayer, and Laura Lindstedt and Sinikka Vuola‘s 101 Ways To Kill Your Husband.
Congratulations to the author and the publisher!