Author: Marisha Rasi-Koskinen
Finnish original: Pudonneet
Publisher: WSOY, 2022
Genre: New Adult literary fiction
Number of pages: 413 pp.
Reading material: Finnish original, Finnish synopsis
Rights sold: Hungarian, Cerkabella; Lithuanian, Terra Pubblica
When Finlandia prize winning Rasi-Koskinen leads us down what seems like an ordinary street, it only takes a moment for us to find ourselves in a maze of mystery instead. The author gradually reveals the exit signs but not before we question our perception of reality.
Three young people are seeking to fulfil their dreams in this gripping novel where reality quickly becomes an enigma; an intelligent puzzle with an astonishing solution. The name of the street is Turnaround and it looks like any other small English street. However, an accident in the last house has set something in motion that cannot be stopped. Teenager Ian lives on his own and passionately composes electronic music. Elias has recently inherited his biological father’s house on the street and has a dream of developing the perfect roleplaying game. When the mysterious K turns up at Turnaround, the fates of the three young people begin to intertwine in an astonishing way.
In The Fallen she dazzles again and asks how we perceive reality. Rasi-Koskinen has been described as a literary genius due to her magical ability to obscure reality in a way that allows her works to contain an entirely different story on the second reading. The Fallen is Marisha Rasi-Koskinen’s seventh work of fiction.
“The novel is captivating in its depiction of the randomness of reality, and how inexorably the lives of the individual young people intertwine and influence each other. The Fallen challenges the reader to participate in a merciless game, where the impact of things must be figured out one by one and by combining different perspectives, observations and possibilities. The Fallen is masterfully constructed, and its controlled narration is dazzling.” – Statement of the Finlandia C&YA Prize Jury
About the author:
Marisha Rasi-Koskinen