"Haunting and glorious . . . Niemi's finest achievement is to have created a world poised between an adult's fantastic memories of childhood and a child's naïve dreams of his future. Graceless sentiments like disillusionment or regret are never allowed to trespass upon Pajala's icy rivers and twilit woods. The future remains a frantic hallucination, while the past is absurd and wondrous."-Nathaniel Rich, Los Angeles Times Book Review
"Popular Music from Vittula is a tale of boyhood friendship elastic enough to include numerous digressions, some fantastical, some so precise in their sociological observation . . . that an anthropologist could make good use of them. . . . In British translator Laurie Thompson's hands, Niemi's language is a constant, fresh poetic surprise. . . . Even the alphabet-â€~a scary army of sticks and half-moons'-comes strangely alive in this marvelous book."-Michael Upchurch, The Seattle Times
"A beautiful, poignant, often very funny novel about growing up in a remote area. Niemi writes with real poetry as he strings together the culturally rich vignettes of Matti's experiences, snapshots of childhood that are at the same time intensely personal and universal . . . An exquisitely beautiful novel, artfully translated."-Paula Luedkte, Booklist
Now in paperback, the enchanting, unforgettable Popular Music from Vittula is the single best-selling book in Swedish history.
Poet and novelist Mikael Niemi grew up in Pajala in the northernmost part of Sweden, near the Finnish border. He is the founding owner of Pajala's sole bookstore.
Laurie Thompson has translated some 15 novels from the Swedish.
]]>"Haunting and glorious . . . Niemi's finest achievement is to have created a world poised between an adult's fantastic memories of childhood and a child's naïve dreams of his future. Graceless sentiments like disillusionment or regret are never allowed to trespass upon Pajala's icy rivers and twilit woods. The future remains a frantic hallucination, while the past is absurd and wondrous."-Nathaniel Rich, Los Angeles Times Book Review
"Popular Music from Vittula is a tale of boyhood friendship elastic enough to include numerous digressions, some fantastical, some so precise in their sociological observation . . . that an anthropologist could make good use of them. . . . In British translator Laurie Thompson's hands, Niemi's language is a constant, fresh poetic surprise. . . . Even the alphabet-â€~a scary army of sticks and half-moons'-comes strangely alive in this marvelous book."-Michael Upchurch, The Seattle Times
"A beautiful, poignant, often very funny novel about growing up in a remote area. Niemi writes with real poetry as he strings together the culturally rich vignettes of Matti's experiences, snapshots of childhood that are at the same time intensely personal and universal . . . An exquisitely beautiful novel, artfully translated."-Paula Luedkte, Booklist
Now in paperback, the enchanting, unforgettable Popular Music from Vittula is the single best-selling book in Swedish history.
Poet and novelist Mikael Niemi grew up in Pajala in the northernmost part of Sweden, near the Finnish border. He is the founding owner of Pajala's sole bookstore.
Laurie Thompson has translated some 15 novels from the Swedish.
]]>"Haunting and glorious . . . Niemi's finest achievement is to have created a world poised between an adult's fantastic memories of childhood and a child's naïve dreams of his future. Graceless sentiments like disillusionment or regret are never allowed to trespass upon Pajala's icy rivers and twilit woods. The future remains a frantic hallucination, while the past is absurd and wondrous."-Nathaniel Rich, Los Angeles Times Book Review
"Popular Music from Vittula is a tale of boyhood friendship elastic enough to include numerous digressions, some fantastical, some so precise in their sociological observation . . . that an anthropologist could make good use of them. . . . In British translator Laurie Thompson's hands, Niemi's language is a constant, fresh poetic surprise. . . . Even the alphabet-â€~a scary army of sticks and half-moons'-comes strangely alive in this marvelous book."-Michael Upchurch, The Seattle Times
"A beautiful, poignant, often very funny novel about growing up in a remote area. Niemi writes with real poetry as he strings together the culturally rich vignettes of Matti's experiences, snapshots of childhood that are at the same time intensely personal and universal . . . An exquisitely beautiful novel, artfully translated."-Paula Luedkte, Booklist
Now in paperback, the enchanting, unforgettable Popular Music from Vittula is the single best-selling book in Swedish history.
Poet and novelist Mikael Niemi grew up in Pajala in the northernmost part of Sweden, near the Finnish border. He is the founding owner of Pajala's sole bookstore.
Laurie Thompson has translated some 15 novels from the Swedish.
]]>"Haunting and glorious . . . Niemi's finest achievement is to have created a world poised between an adult's fantastic memories of childhood and a child's naïve dreams of his future. Graceless sentiments like disillusionment or regret are never allowed to trespass upon Pajala's icy rivers and twilit woods. The future remains a frantic hallucination, while the past is absurd and wondrous."-Nathaniel Rich, Los Angeles Times Book Review
"Popular Music from Vittula is a tale of boyhood friendship elastic enough to include numerous digressions, some fantastical, some so precise in their sociological observation . . . that an anthropologist could make good use of them. . . . In British translator Laurie Thompson's hands, Niemi's language is a constant, fresh poetic surprise. . . . Even the alphabet-â€~a scary army of sticks and half-moons'-comes strangely alive in this marvelous book."-Michael Upchurch, The Seattle Times
"A beautiful, poignant, often very funny novel about growing up in a remote area. Niemi writes with real poetry as he strings together the culturally rich vignettes of Matti's experiences, snapshots of childhood that are at the same time intensely personal and universal . . . An exquisitely beautiful novel, artfully translated."-Paula Luedkte, Booklist
Now in paperback, the enchanting, unforgettable Popular Music from Vittula is the single best-selling book in Swedish history.
Poet and novelist Mikael Niemi grew up in Pajala in the northernmost part of Sweden, near the Finnish border. He is the founding owner of Pajala's sole bookstore.
Laurie Thompson has translated some 15 novels from the Swedish.
]]>"Haunting and glorious . . . Niemi's finest achievement is to have created a world poised between an adult's fantastic memories of childhood and a child's naïve dreams of his future. Graceless sentiments like disillusionment or regret are never allowed to trespass upon Pajala's icy rivers and twilit woods. The future remains a frantic hallucination, while the past is absurd and wondrous."-Nathaniel Rich, Los Angeles Times Book Review
"Popular Music from Vittula is a tale of boyhood friendship elastic enough to include numerous digressions, some fantastical, some so precise in their sociological observation . . . that an anthropologist could make good use of them. . . . In British translator Laurie Thompson's hands, Niemi's language is a constant, fresh poetic surprise. . . . Even the alphabet-â€~a scary army of sticks and half-moons'-comes strangely alive in this marvelous book."-Michael Upchurch, The Seattle Times
"A beautiful, poignant, often very funny novel about growing up in a remote area. Niemi writes with real poetry as he strings together the culturally rich vignettes of Matti's experiences, snapshots of childhood that are at the same time intensely personal and universal . . . An exquisitely beautiful novel, artfully translated."-Paula Luedkte, Booklist
Now in paperback, the enchanting, unforgettable Popular Music from Vittula is the single best-selling book in Swedish history.
Poet and novelist Mikael Niemi grew up in Pajala in the northernmost part of Sweden, near the Finnish border. He is the founding owner of Pajala's sole bookstore.
Laurie Thompson has translated some 15 novels from the Swedish.
]]>"Haunting and glorious . . . Niemi's finest achievement is to have created a world poised between an adult's fantastic memories of childhood and a child's naïve dreams of his future. Graceless sentiments like disillusionment or regret are never allowed to trespass upon Pajala's icy rivers and twilit woods. The future remains a frantic hallucination, while the past is absurd and wondrous."-Nathaniel Rich, Los Angeles Times Book Review
"Popular Music from Vittula is a tale of boyhood friendship elastic enough to include numerous digressions, some fantastical, some so precise in their sociological observation . . . that an anthropologist could make good use of them. . . . In British translator Laurie Thompson's hands, Niemi's language is a constant, fresh poetic surprise. . . . Even the alphabet-â€~a scary army of sticks and half-moons'-comes strangely alive in this marvelous book."-Michael Upchurch, The Seattle Times
"A beautiful, poignant, often very funny novel about growing up in a remote area. Niemi writes with real poetry as he strings together the culturally rich vignettes of Matti's experiences, snapshots of childhood that are at the same time intensely personal and universal . . . An exquisitely beautiful novel, artfully translated."-Paula Luedkte, Booklist
Now in paperback, the enchanting, unforgettable Popular Music from Vittula is the single best-selling book in Swedish history.
Poet and novelist Mikael Niemi grew up in Pajala in the northernmost part of Sweden, near the Finnish border. He is the founding owner of Pajala's sole bookstore.
Laurie Thompson has translated some 15 novels from the Swedish.
]]>"Haunting and glorious . . . Niemi's finest achievement is to have created a world poised between an adult's fantastic memories of childhood and a child's naïve dreams of his future. Graceless sentiments like disillusionment or regret are never allowed to trespass upon Pajala's icy rivers and twilit woods. The future remains a frantic hallucination, while the past is absurd and wondrous."-Nathaniel Rich, Los Angeles Times Book Review
"Popular Music from Vittula is a tale of boyhood friendship elastic enough to include numerous digressions, some fantastical, some so precise in their sociological observation . . . that an anthropologist could make good use of them. . . . In British translator Laurie Thompson's hands, Niemi's language is a constant, fresh poetic surprise. . . . Even the alphabet-â€~a scary army of sticks and half-moons'-comes strangely alive in this marvelous book."-Michael Upchurch, The Seattle Times
"A beautiful, poignant, often very funny novel about growing up in a remote area. Niemi writes with real poetry as he strings together the culturally rich vignettes of Matti's experiences, snapshots of childhood that are at the same time intensely personal and universal . . . An exquisitely beautiful novel, artfully translated."-Paula Luedkte, Booklist
Now in paperback, the enchanting, unforgettable Popular Music from Vittula is the single best-selling book in Swedish history.
Poet and novelist Mikael Niemi grew up in Pajala in the northernmost part of Sweden, near the Finnish border. He is the founding owner of Pajala's sole bookstore.
Laurie Thompson has translated some 15 novels from the Swedish.
]]>Als wäre die Schroffheit ihres geliebten Tornedals nicht genug, scheinen seine Bewohner auch seelisch verkarstet. Der Geist des Hausapostels Laestadius weht allerorten, der Geist eines Predigers, der hier in grauer Vorzeit die Gegend von Sünde und Lotterleben reinigte. Das laestadianisch-lustfeindliche Motto vom Leben als stetigem Weg bergauf findet bei Matti und Niila naturgemäß wenig Anklang. Verlockender scheinen da schon Råckönråll und Tornedal-Mädels. Beide Ziele jedoch liegen noch in weiter Ferne.
Im fahlen Nordlicht wird Matti Zeuge skurrilster, oft mythisch angehauchter Ereignisse. Niemi lässt dabei ein beachtliches Personal knorrigster Charaktere aufmarschieren. Laestadius zum Trotz, finden Fress-, Sauf-, Rauf- und Saunagelage statt, die die Wikinger-Vorfahren erbleichen lassen würden. Unikum Greger, der neue Musiklehrer, ein Rennradfan, regelmäßig von Hunden auf Trainingsfahrten durch die Tundra gehetzt, wird für die Jungen zur Offenbarung. Greger liebt Hendrix! Highlight des Buches ist eine von Matti veranstaltete, verheerende Rattenvernichtungsaktion, die den halben finnischen Waldbestand (und den Leser fast den Mageninhalt) kostet, als Lohn aber Mattis erste E-Gitarre einbringt. Ziel Nummer zwei lässt auch nicht lange auf sich warten. Mattis langer Marsch aus dem Tornedal ins Leben: ein zutiefst menschliches, gnadenlos komisches Buch! --Ravi Unger
]]>"Haunting and glorious . . . Niemi's finest achievement is to have created a world poised between an adult's fantastic memories of childhood and a child's naïve dreams of his future. Graceless sentiments like disillusionment or regret are never allowed to trespass upon Pajala's icy rivers and twilit woods. The future remains a frantic hallucination, while the past is absurd and wondrous."-Nathaniel Rich, Los Angeles Times Book Review
"Popular Music from Vittula is a tale of boyhood friendship elastic enough to include numerous digressions, some fantastical, some so precise in their sociological observation . . . that an anthropologist could make good use of them. . . . In British translator Laurie Thompson's hands, Niemi's language is a constant, fresh poetic surprise. . . . Even the alphabet-â€~a scary army of sticks and half-moons'-comes strangely alive in this marvelous book."-Michael Upchurch, The Seattle Times
"A beautiful, poignant, often very funny novel about growing up in a remote area. Niemi writes with real poetry as he strings together the culturally rich vignettes of Matti's experiences, snapshots of childhood that are at the same time intensely personal and universal . . . An exquisitely beautiful novel, artfully translated."-Paula Luedkte, Booklist
Now in paperback, the enchanting, unforgettable Popular Music from Vittula is the single best-selling book in Swedish history.
Poet and novelist Mikael Niemi grew up in Pajala in the northernmost part of Sweden, near the Finnish border. He is the founding owner of Pajala's sole bookstore.
Laurie Thompson has translated some 15 novels from the Swedish.
]]>"Haunting and glorious . . . Niemi's finest achievement is to have created a world poised between an adult's fantastic memories of childhood and a child's naïve dreams of his future. Graceless sentiments like disillusionment or regret are never allowed to trespass upon Pajala's icy rivers and twilit woods. The future remains a frantic hallucination, while the past is absurd and wondrous."-Nathaniel Rich, Los Angeles Times Book Review
"Popular Music from Vittula is a tale of boyhood friendship elastic enough to include numerous digressions, some fantastical, some so precise in their sociological observation . . . that an anthropologist could make good use of them. . . . In British translator Laurie Thompson's hands, Niemi's language is a constant, fresh poetic surprise. . . . Even the alphabet-â€~a scary army of sticks and half-moons'-comes strangely alive in this marvelous book."-Michael Upchurch, The Seattle Times
"A beautiful, poignant, often very funny novel about growing up in a remote area. Niemi writes with real poetry as he strings together the culturally rich vignettes of Matti's experiences, snapshots of childhood that are at the same time intensely personal and universal . . . An exquisitely beautiful novel, artfully translated."-Paula Luedkte, Booklist
Now in paperback, the enchanting, unforgettable Popular Music from Vittula is the single best-selling book in Swedish history.
Poet and novelist Mikael Niemi grew up in Pajala in the northernmost part of Sweden, near the Finnish border. He is the founding owner of Pajala's sole bookstore.
Laurie Thompson has translated some 15 novels from the Swedish.
]]>"Haunting and glorious . . . Niemi's finest achievement is to have created a world poised between an adult's fantastic memories of childhood and a child's naïve dreams of his future. Graceless sentiments like disillusionment or regret are never allowed to trespass upon Pajala's icy rivers and twilit woods. The future remains a frantic hallucination, while the past is absurd and wondrous."-Nathaniel Rich, Los Angeles Times Book Review
"Popular Music from Vittula is a tale of boyhood friendship elastic enough to include numerous digressions, some fantastical, some so precise in their sociological observation . . . that an anthropologist could make good use of them. . . . In British translator Laurie Thompson's hands, Niemi's language is a constant, fresh poetic surprise. . . . Even the alphabet-â€~a scary army of sticks and half-moons'-comes strangely alive in this marvelous book."-Michael Upchurch, The Seattle Times
"A beautiful, poignant, often very funny novel about growing up in a remote area. Niemi writes with real poetry as he strings together the culturally rich vignettes of Matti's experiences, snapshots of childhood that are at the same time intensely personal and universal . . . An exquisitely beautiful novel, artfully translated."-Paula Luedkte, Booklist
Now in paperback, the enchanting, unforgettable Popular Music from Vittula is the single best-selling book in Swedish history.
Poet and novelist Mikael Niemi grew up in Pajala in the northernmost part of Sweden, near the Finnish border. He is the founding owner of Pajala's sole bookstore.
Laurie Thompson has translated some 15 novels from the Swedish.
]]>"Haunting and glorious . . . Niemi's finest achievement is to have created a world poised between an adult's fantastic memories of childhood and a child's naïve dreams of his future. Graceless sentiments like disillusionment or regret are never allowed to trespass upon Pajala's icy rivers and twilit woods. The future remains a frantic hallucination, while the past is absurd and wondrous."-Nathaniel Rich, Los Angeles Times Book Review
"Popular Music from Vittula is a tale of boyhood friendship elastic enough to include numerous digressions, some fantastical, some so precise in their sociological observation . . . that an anthropologist could make good use of them. . . . In British translator Laurie Thompson's hands, Niemi's language is a constant, fresh poetic surprise. . . . Even the alphabet-â€~a scary army of sticks and half-moons'-comes strangely alive in this marvelous book."-Michael Upchurch, The Seattle Times
"A beautiful, poignant, often very funny novel about growing up in a remote area. Niemi writes with real poetry as he strings together the culturally rich vignettes of Matti's experiences, snapshots of childhood that are at the same time intensely personal and universal . . . An exquisitely beautiful novel, artfully translated."-Paula Luedkte, Booklist
Now in paperback, the enchanting, unforgettable Popular Music from Vittula is the single best-selling book in Swedish history.
Poet and novelist Mikael Niemi grew up in Pajala in the northernmost part of Sweden, near the Finnish border. He is the founding owner of Pajala's sole bookstore.
Laurie Thompson has translated some 15 novels from the Swedish.
]]>"Haunting and glorious . . . Niemi's finest achievement is to have created a world poised between an adult's fantastic memories of childhood and a child's naïve dreams of his future. Graceless sentiments like disillusionment or regret are never allowed to trespass upon Pajala's icy rivers and twilit woods. The future remains a frantic hallucination, while the past is absurd and wondrous."-Nathaniel Rich, Los Angeles Times Book Review
"Popular Music from Vittula is a tale of boyhood friendship elastic enough to include numerous digressions, some fantastical, some so precise in their sociological observation . . . that an anthropologist could make good use of them. . . . In British translator Laurie Thompson's hands, Niemi's language is a constant, fresh poetic surprise. . . . Even the alphabet-â€~a scary army of sticks and half-moons'-comes strangely alive in this marvelous book."-Michael Upchurch, The Seattle Times
"A beautiful, poignant, often very funny novel about growing up in a remote area. Niemi writes with real poetry as he strings together the culturally rich vignettes of Matti's experiences, snapshots of childhood that are at the same time intensely personal and universal . . . An exquisitely beautiful novel, artfully translated."-Paula Luedkte, Booklist
Now in paperback, the enchanting, unforgettable Popular Music from Vittula is the single best-selling book in Swedish history.
Poet and novelist Mikael Niemi grew up in Pajala in the northernmost part of Sweden, near the Finnish border. He is the founding owner of Pajala's sole bookstore.
Laurie Thompson has translated some 15 novels from the Swedish.
]]>"Haunting and glorious . . . Niemi's finest achievement is to have created a world poised between an adult's fantastic memories of childhood and a child's naïve dreams of his future. Graceless sentiments like disillusionment or regret are never allowed to trespass upon Pajala's icy rivers and twilit woods. The future remains a frantic hallucination, while the past is absurd and wondrous."-Nathaniel Rich, Los Angeles Times Book Review
"Popular Music from Vittula is a tale of boyhood friendship elastic enough to include numerous digressions, some fantastical, some so precise in their sociological observation . . . that an anthropologist could make good use of them. . . . In British translator Laurie Thompson's hands, Niemi's language is a constant, fresh poetic surprise. . . . Even the alphabet-â€~a scary army of sticks and half-moons'-comes strangely alive in this marvelous book."-Michael Upchurch, The Seattle Times
"A beautiful, poignant, often very funny novel about growing up in a remote area. Niemi writes with real poetry as he strings together the culturally rich vignettes of Matti's experiences, snapshots of childhood that are at the same time intensely personal and universal . . . An exquisitely beautiful novel, artfully translated."-Paula Luedkte, Booklist
Now in paperback, the enchanting, unforgettable Popular Music from Vittula is the single best-selling book in Swedish history.
Poet and novelist Mikael Niemi grew up in Pajala in the northernmost part of Sweden, near the Finnish border. He is the founding owner of Pajala's sole bookstore.
Laurie Thompson has translated some 15 novels from the Swedish.
]]>"Haunting and glorious . . . Niemi's finest achievement is to have created a world poised between an adult's fantastic memories of childhood and a child's naïve dreams of his future. Graceless sentiments like disillusionment or regret are never allowed to trespass upon Pajala's icy rivers and twilit woods. The future remains a frantic hallucination, while the past is absurd and wondrous."-Nathaniel Rich, Los Angeles Times Book Review
"Popular Music from Vittula is a tale of boyhood friendship elastic enough to include numerous digressions, some fantastical, some so precise in their sociological observation . . . that an anthropologist could make good use of them. . . . In British translator Laurie Thompson's hands, Niemi's language is a constant, fresh poetic surprise. . . . Even the alphabet-â€~a scary army of sticks and half-moons'-comes strangely alive in this marvelous book."-Michael Upchurch, The Seattle Times
"A beautiful, poignant, often very funny novel about growing up in a remote area. Niemi writes with real poetry as he strings together the culturally rich vignettes of Matti's experiences, snapshots of childhood that are at the same time intensely personal and universal . . . An exquisitely beautiful novel, artfully translated."-Paula Luedkte, Booklist
Now in paperback, the enchanting, unforgettable Popular Music from Vittula is the single best-selling book in Swedish history.
Poet and novelist Mikael Niemi grew up in Pajala in the northernmost part of Sweden, near the Finnish border. He is the founding owner of Pajala's sole bookstore.
Laurie Thompson has translated some 15 novels from the Swedish.
]]>"Haunting and glorious . . . Niemi's finest achievement is to have created a world poised between an adult's fantastic memories of childhood and a child's naïve dreams of his future. Graceless sentiments like disillusionment or regret are never allowed to trespass upon Pajala's icy rivers and twilit woods. The future remains a frantic hallucination, while the past is absurd and wondrous."-Nathaniel Rich, Los Angeles Times Book Review
"Popular Music from Vittula is a tale of boyhood friendship elastic enough to include numerous digressions, some fantastical, some so precise in their sociological observation . . . that an anthropologist could make good use of them. . . . In British translator Laurie Thompson's hands, Niemi's language is a constant, fresh poetic surprise. . . . Even the alphabet-â€~a scary army of sticks and half-moons'-comes strangely alive in this marvelous book."-Michael Upchurch, The Seattle Times
"A beautiful, poignant, often very funny novel about growing up in a remote area. Niemi writes with real poetry as he strings together the culturally rich vignettes of Matti's experiences, snapshots of childhood that are at the same time intensely personal and universal . . . An exquisitely beautiful novel, artfully translated."-Paula Luedkte, Booklist
Now in paperback, the enchanting, unforgettable Popular Music from Vittula is the single best-selling book in Swedish history.
Poet and novelist Mikael Niemi grew up in Pajala in the northernmost part of Sweden, near the Finnish border. He is the founding owner of Pajala's sole bookstore.
Laurie Thompson has translated some 15 novels from the Swedish.
]]>"Haunting and glorious . . . Niemi's finest achievement is to have created a world poised between an adult's fantastic memories of childhood and a child's naïve dreams of his future. Graceless sentiments like disillusionment or regret are never allowed to trespass upon Pajala's icy rivers and twilit woods. The future remains a frantic hallucination, while the past is absurd and wondrous."-Nathaniel Rich, Los Angeles Times Book Review
"Popular Music from Vittula is a tale of boyhood friendship elastic enough to include numerous digressions, some fantastical, some so precise in their sociological observation . . . that an anthropologist could make good use of them. . . . In British translator Laurie Thompson's hands, Niemi's language is a constant, fresh poetic surprise. . . . Even the alphabet-â€~a scary army of sticks and half-moons'-comes strangely alive in this marvelous book."-Michael Upchurch, The Seattle Times
"A beautiful, poignant, often very funny novel about growing up in a remote area. Niemi writes with real poetry as he strings together the culturally rich vignettes of Matti's experiences, snapshots of childhood that are at the same time intensely personal and universal . . . An exquisitely beautiful novel, artfully translated."-Paula Luedkte, Booklist
Now in paperback, the enchanting, unforgettable Popular Music from Vittula is the single best-selling book in Swedish history.
Poet and novelist Mikael Niemi grew up in Pajala in the northernmost part of Sweden, near the Finnish border. He is the founding owner of Pajala's sole bookstore.
Laurie Thompson has translated some 15 novels from the Swedish.
]]>"Haunting and glorious . . . Niemi's finest achievement is to have created a world poised between an adult's fantastic memories of childhood and a child's naïve dreams of his future. Graceless sentiments like disillusionment or regret are never allowed to trespass upon Pajala's icy rivers and twilit woods. The future remains a frantic hallucination, while the past is absurd and wondrous."-Nathaniel Rich, Los Angeles Times Book Review
"Popular Music from Vittula is a tale of boyhood friendship elastic enough to include numerous digressions, some fantastical, some so precise in their sociological observation . . . that an anthropologist could make good use of them. . . . In British translator Laurie Thompson's hands, Niemi's language is a constant, fresh poetic surprise. . . . Even the alphabet-â€~a scary army of sticks and half-moons'-comes strangely alive in this marvelous book."-Michael Upchurch, The Seattle Times
"A beautiful, poignant, often very funny novel about growing up in a remote area. Niemi writes with real poetry as he strings together the culturally rich vignettes of Matti's experiences, snapshots of childhood that are at the same time intensely personal and universal . . . An exquisitely beautiful novel, artfully translated."-Paula Luedkte, Booklist
Now in paperback, the enchanting, unforgettable Popular Music from Vittula is the single best-selling book in Swedish history.
Poet and novelist Mikael Niemi grew up in Pajala in the northernmost part of Sweden, near the Finnish border. He is the founding owner of Pajala's sole bookstore.
Laurie Thompson has translated some 15 novels from the Swedish.
]]>"Haunting and glorious . . . Niemi's finest achievement is to have created a world poised between an adult's fantastic memories of childhood and a child's naïve dreams of his future. Graceless sentiments like disillusionment or regret are never allowed to trespass upon Pajala's icy rivers and twilit woods. The future remains a frantic hallucination, while the past is absurd and wondrous."-Nathaniel Rich, Los Angeles Times Book Review
"Popular Music from Vittula is a tale of boyhood friendship elastic enough to include numerous digressions, some fantastical, some so precise in their sociological observation . . . that an anthropologist could make good use of them. . . . In British translator Laurie Thompson's hands, Niemi's language is a constant, fresh poetic surprise. . . . Even the alphabet-â€~a scary army of sticks and half-moons'-comes strangely alive in this marvelous book."-Michael Upchurch, The Seattle Times
"A beautiful, poignant, often very funny novel about growing up in a remote area. Niemi writes with real poetry as he strings together the culturally rich vignettes of Matti's experiences, snapshots of childhood that are at the same time intensely personal and universal . . . An exquisitely beautiful novel, artfully translated."-Paula Luedkte, Booklist
Now in paperback, the enchanting, unforgettable Popular Music from Vittula is the single best-selling book in Swedish history.
Poet and novelist Mikael Niemi grew up in Pajala in the northernmost part of Sweden, near the Finnish border. He is the founding owner of Pajala's sole bookstore.
Laurie Thompson has translated some 15 novels from the Swedish.
]]>"Haunting and glorious . . . Niemi's finest achievement is to have created a world poised between an adult's fantastic memories of childhood and a child's naïve dreams of his future. Graceless sentiments like disillusionment or regret are never allowed to trespass upon Pajala's icy rivers and twilit woods. The future remains a frantic hallucination, while the past is absurd and wondrous."-Nathaniel Rich, Los Angeles Times Book Review
"Popular Music from Vittula is a tale of boyhood friendship elastic enough to include numerous digressions, some fantastical, some so precise in their sociological observation . . . that an anthropologist could make good use of them. . . . In British translator Laurie Thompson's hands, Niemi's language is a constant, fresh poetic surprise. . . . Even the alphabet-â€~a scary army of sticks and half-moons'-comes strangely alive in this marvelous book."-Michael Upchurch, The Seattle Times
"A beautiful, poignant, often very funny novel about growing up in a remote area. Niemi writes with real poetry as he strings together the culturally rich vignettes of Matti's experiences, snapshots of childhood that are at the same time intensely personal and universal . . . An exquisitely beautiful novel, artfully translated."-Paula Luedkte, Booklist
Now in paperback, the enchanting, unforgettable Popular Music from Vittula is the single best-selling book in Swedish history.
Poet and novelist Mikael Niemi grew up in Pajala in the northernmost part of Sweden, near the Finnish border. He is the founding owner of Pajala's sole bookstore.
Laurie Thompson has translated some 15 novels from the Swedish.
]]>"Haunting and glorious . . . Niemi's finest achievement is to have created a world poised between an adult's fantastic memories of childhood and a child's naïve dreams of his future. Graceless sentiments like disillusionment or regret are never allowed to trespass upon Pajala's icy rivers and twilit woods. The future remains a frantic hallucination, while the past is absurd and wondrous."-Nathaniel Rich, Los Angeles Times Book Review
"Popular Music from Vittula is a tale of boyhood friendship elastic enough to include numerous digressions, some fantastical, some so precise in their sociological observation . . . that an anthropologist could make good use of them. . . . In British translator Laurie Thompson's hands, Niemi's language is a constant, fresh poetic surprise. . . . Even the alphabet-â€~a scary army of sticks and half-moons'-comes strangely alive in this marvelous book."-Michael Upchurch, The Seattle Times
"A beautiful, poignant, often very funny novel about growing up in a remote area. Niemi writes with real poetry as he strings together the culturally rich vignettes of Matti's experiences, snapshots of childhood that are at the same time intensely personal and universal . . . An exquisitely beautiful novel, artfully translated."-Paula Luedkte, Booklist
Now in paperback, the enchanting, unforgettable Popular Music from Vittula is the single best-selling book in Swedish history.
Poet and novelist Mikael Niemi grew up in Pajala in the northernmost part of Sweden, near the Finnish border. He is the founding owner of Pajala's sole bookstore.
Laurie Thompson has translated some 15 novels from the Swedish.
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