Is love like salt or coffee filters which are always available – until they aren’t?
Author: Anni Saastamoinen
Finnish original: Ja mutta että sitten
Publisher: Gummerus, 2022
Genre: literary fiction
Number of pages: 218 pp.
Reading material: Finnish original, English sample, English synopsis
Luigi’s marriage has ended, and he’s moved to a small studio in order to find himself. Laila, whose friend has died, lives on the opposite side of town. Everyone else seems to be able to carry on with their lives, but she is still as attached to her loss as Luigi is to his. The two lost and insecure souls are searching for a purpose, until one day he empties his beer on her and the encounter forces them both out of their shells.
“I can’t separate my feelings from one another. They wriggle across me and into me, like weeds, couch grass that’s wormed its way into the clayey soil, deviously breeding from broken bits of roots. As soon as you think you’ve dealt with anything, there’s more. More emotion grown out of a tiny, forgotten sliver, impossible to recognise with my limited knowledge of emotional horticulture.”
But Then Again uses dark humour in its acute and wise portrayal of thirty-somethings Laila and Luigi, two individuals recovering from grief. It is a warm book, tinged with melancholy, and its wisdom comes from the comfort of everyday: the sun has risen every day. Tomorrow should be no exception.
Anni Saastamoinen’s humorous and warm first novel The Sensible Life of Sirkka (2019) established her as an illustrator of contemporary urban solitude and singularity. Her skill in depicting the quotidian detail and the happiness that can be found within reach has made her a readers’ favourite.
Also Available:
The Sensible Life of Sirkka (2019)
About the author:
Anni Saastamoinen