Visitors to Edinburgh’s Central Library will be able to sample a special selection of Nordic noir, as well as sci-fi, history and poetry, thanks to a delivery by the Finnish Institute in London.
The Capital is one of 10 locations chosen by the Institute, together with the Finnish Embassy, to receive a consignment of literature by Finnish authors, translated into English.
The ‘10×10 Stories from Finland’ campaign has seen 100 books donated to 10 libraries around the UK in celebration of Finland’s centenary as an independent country.
Councillor Alison Dickie, Vice Convener of the Education, Children and Families Committee, was presented with the books by Jaakko Nousiainen, the Head of Arts and Culture programme at the Finnish Institute, yesterday.
She said: “This generous donation will offer library users a fascinating insight into Finnish culture and tradition – these books are a welcome addition to our collection.
“Like in Finland, we really value our libraries here in Edinburgh, and the opportunities they provide for lifelong learning, enjoyment and interaction with others.”
Each of the libraries involved, including Southampton, Leeds and Nottingham, have been given a different collection of stories, both classic and contemporary. Amongst these are two novels by Tove Jansson, author of the much-loved Moomin series, and epic poetry compilation, Kalevala – The Land of the Heroes.
Johanna Sumuvuori, Head of Society and Culture at the Finnish Institute in London, said: “We wanted to celebrate Finland’s centenary in the UK by bringing 10 wonderful Finnish stories to British readers and library users. We believe these stories offer great literary travels across Finnish culture.
“The donated books include one of Tove Jansson’s bestselling classics, The Summer Book. Tove is best known as the creator of the Moomin stories, but she also wrote novels for adults. Her writings embody the best of Finnish culture by embracing tolerance and the love and appreciation of nature.”
The Finnish books can be borrowed from the Central Library’s main lending section.
Find out more about 10×10 Stories from Finland on The Finnish Institute in London’s website and on Twitter, by searching #StoriesFromFinland.
List of books donated:
Tove Jansson
Art in Nature, 2012
The Summer Book, 2003
Antti Tuomainen
The Mine, 2016
Elias Lönnrot
Kalevala – The Land of the Heroes, 1985
Translated by W.F. Kirby and introduced by M.A. Branch
Rosa Liksom
The Compartment no 6, 2014
Hannu Rajaniemi
The Quantum Thief, 2010
Tua Forsström
I studied once at a wonderful faculty, 2006
Lars Sund
A Happy Little Island, 2016
Markus Majaluoma
Daisy Darling, Let’s Read a Story! A Daisy and Daddy Story Book Vol. II, 2015
Timo Parvela
Bicycling to the Moon, 2016
Illustrated by Virpi Talvitie
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