“My grief will always be open-ended. Grief after death is life and has to be lived.”
Author: Katriina Huttunen
Finnish original: Surun istukka
Publisher: S&S, 2019
Genre: literary fiction
Number of pages: 169 pp.
Reading material: Finnish original, English sample, English synopsis
The woman’s daughter has committed suicide. It turns out that the daughter, who suffered from depression, collected all her prescription drugs at the pharmacy on two successive days. She didn’t leave any message.
Nothing in her mother’s life will ever be the same. Grief has entered her life to stay. There is no consolation.
Mother’s home is now in the cemetery; when she looks at the graves, she feels she belongs somewhere. That’s where she can be with her dead daughter, with her grief.
Alongside her loss comes anger, accompanied by self-blame, rage, disappointment with herself and with others, fear, terror, shame, regrets, guilt. But the greatest of all is grief. And the centre of the profound grief holds a secret, the daughter, a child who is no more.
The loss also brings along words. The woman starts writing and can’t stop.
The Placenta of Grief is an autobiographical novel, and Katriina Huttunen’s first. It’s full of despair, rage and surprising beauty. The narrator takes an unflinching look at life, death, herself and people around her. The novel forces the reader to face the taboos of suicide and questions the validity of a culture that wants to forget the ever-present possibility of death.
“Huttunen’s depiction of grief is refreshingly straightforward and faces up to taboos. She doesn’t believe that she can get over grief, and doesn’t even want to do so. When she writes that grief has made her a self-satisfied, hermetically closed space, I recognise the sentiment. I, too, have fallen into the trap that, after this, at least I understand a bit more about life than some others.”
– Me Naiset magazine
“The Placenta of Grief is an important book. It doesn’t give a detailed account about the terrible event or carry an autopsy on the deceased. It’s a skilfully written and structured novel which makes its main impact at the end. The page contains only one line. After I read it, I began to cry.”
– Länsi-Savo newspaper
“Huttunen’s writing is merciless, unflinching and strangely beautiful. The mother decides to grieve till her dying day because grief is the most potent memory of her daughter. And nothing lasts forever apart from a loss.”
–Ilta-Sanomat newspaper
“Huttunen translates literary fiction into Finnish; she’s a professional linguist and a magician with words. The Placenta of Grief is atmospheric and impressive throughout. It moves skilfully between themes and registers, although it takes place within the straitjacket of grief.”
– Helsingin Sanomat newspaper
About the author:
Katriina Huttunen