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Oksi
Kertomus äideistä ja tyttäristä, tähdistä ja myyteistä. Karhuemon pennuista yksi ei ole kuin muut. Mikä se on? Kuka sen on lähettänyt?
Oksi on Mari Ahokoivun tähänastisen uran pääteos, scifiä, fantasiaa ja suomalaista mytologiaa sekoittava eeppinen sarjakuvaromaani. Tarina pohtii äidin ja lapsen välistä suhdetta muinaisen karhunsyntymyytin kautta. Oksi herättää myyttisen metsän eloon.
IN ENGLISH:
Oksi is a graphic novel a about mothers and daughters, stars and myths. It’s an epic story mix with sci-fi, fantasy and old Finnish bear mythology. One of the bear mothers cubs is not like the others. What is it? Who has send it?
In Finnish with English subtitles
Oksi on Mari Ahokoivun tähänastisen uran pääteos, scifiä, fantasiaa ja suomalaista mytologiaa sekoittava eeppinen sarjakuvaromaani. Tarina pohtii äidin ja lapsen välistä suhdetta muinaisen karhunsyntymyytin kautta. Oksi herättää myyttisen metsän eloon.
IN ENGLISH:
Oksi is a graphic novel a about mothers and daughters, stars and myths. It’s an epic story mix with sci-fi, fantasy and old Finnish bear mythology. One of the bear mothers cubs is not like the others. What is it? Who has send it?
In Finnish with English subtitles
367 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 2018
21 people are currently reading
970 people want to read
About the author
Mari Ahokoivu
59 books35 followersMari Ahokoivu is a Finnish Illustrator and a comic artist. Ahokoivu draws comics for adults and for kids and has been published in Finland as well as abroad.
She also teaches comics and has been active in the local comics societies, producing many comics related projects.
She also teaches comics and has been active in the local comics societies, producing many comics related projects.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 337 reviews
March 4, 2022
I've been struggling to read recently so took myself back to graphic novels and this was exactly what I needed. Even though it got surprisingly dark, I felt kinda held by the beauty of the illustrations. It reminded me of how helpful I find art as a way of engaging with difficult content - not just because (imo lol) it makes anything more interesting and fun and joyful etc., but also because it makes shit feel safer. Which is a nice thing. If I had read some of these scenes in another context, I would've been likely to put the book down being like ew help no, but I didn't want to here because I was so into the visual style. That words can provoke my mind to construct images that are perhaps more brutal than actual images of the same content, is an interesting thought...
I was also entranced by the simplisty and yet complete accuracy of how ugly emotions were captured in the characters. Stunning piece of work.
I was also entranced by the simplisty and yet complete accuracy of how ugly emotions were captured in the characters. Stunning piece of work.
November 22, 2021
The art is absolutely gorgeous in this book. The watercolor like style, with pops of color throughout, work really well for the folklore aspect of the story. As for the story itself, I think it would be more effective if you knew the folklore that it's based on. On its own, the story seems a bit sporadic. It's interesting, but now I'm definitely going to go look at Finnish folklore to better understand what was going on.
I would 100% recommend this for the artwork, though. Each page is a work of art on its own.
I would 100% recommend this for the artwork, though. Each page is a work of art on its own.
March 16, 2019
Mikä itkettävän kaunis, mahtipontinen, ikuinen kertomus. Tämä oli aivan mieletön lukukokemus, itseään suurempi tarina. Kokonaisen kansan sydämen lyönti, ehkä. Olen äimistynyt ja rakastunut.
June 20, 2019
Ehkäpä luin tän vähän huonoon aikaan parin yövuoron jälkeen ja mitättömillä unilla 🙈 mutta ei tää kyllä iskenyt nyt yhtään. Ajattelin lukea jotain helppoa ja selkeetä, mutta tähän olisikin pitänyt vissiin keskittyä hieman enemmän. Voisin siis väittää, että nyt oli kyllä vika varmasti minussa 🙈
August 16, 2022
Lovely illustration style but the story was weird. It didn’t make sense to me.
October 8, 2021
Mari Ahokoivun "Oksi" (Asema, 2018) jätti vähän samanlaisen fiiliksen kuin Hayo Miyazakin animaatioelokuvat. Fantasiasarjakuva on visuaalisesti komea ja erilaisia myyttejä hyödyntävä kertomus, josta monet selvästi tykkäävät. Tarinaltaan se on kuitenkin sen verran erikoinen tapaus, etten siitä itse saa kummoistakaan otetta. Ei voi mitään, pidän itse vähän toisenlaisesta sarjakuvasta!
March 29, 2022
So I have mixed feelings about this one..
It's a powerful story. And the end made me cry, which I had not expected at all.
But.. At the same time. ..
I had found myself very confused while reading this. Often I felt lost, as I just couldn't figure out who some of these strange characters were or even what they were. Like were these "shadows" that were making masks - were they early humans? I thought that's what they were but later in the book they were called "shadows" so does that mean they were not humans? I just don't know and it can be frustrating. They seemed to act like humans but I have no idea. It can be hard to enjoy a book if things are not stated clearly. There are also many giant strange looking creatures in here and I guess they are supposed to be gods but I found them rather confusing too. They had names but the names did not help me understand who they were or what their relationship to the mother Bear was. And the images did not really help with this. And often I found the images were perplexing as well.
The events in here, the things that happen to Poorling (who is the main character and she lives with the mother Bear) are easier to grasp and follow. And some of those events are tragic. There is definitely a strong horror element in here but I am unsure if its meant to be horror. I think it's just sort of showing daily life in a forest way back in ancient days. This story is based off of Finnish mythology which I am unfamiliar with but I guess the mythology says that Bear came out of the northern lights? Because that is what I see in here.
And even more strange in one scene I saw what looked like an astronaut in a suit? So yes, the stuff in here can be way out there. Very confusing.
The back of the book does have a list explaining who the characters like Emuu, Scaup and Mana are. In my personal opinion this should have been at the front of the book as it would have helped me to better understand the story! But I only found it after I was done. I still feel confused to tell you the truth! And I don't know if Scaup the bird is supposed to be a good or bad character? Or is Scaup a teacher? Scaup seemed to be teaching songs and possibly magic (fire?).
Are there bears in Finland? There must be if their myths contain bears.
It's a powerful story. And the end made me cry, which I had not expected at all.
But.. At the same time. ..
I had found myself very confused while reading this. Often I felt lost, as I just couldn't figure out who some of these strange characters were or even what they were. Like were these "shadows" that were making masks - were they early humans? I thought that's what they were but later in the book they were called "shadows" so does that mean they were not humans? I just don't know and it can be frustrating. They seemed to act like humans but I have no idea. It can be hard to enjoy a book if things are not stated clearly. There are also many giant strange looking creatures in here and I guess they are supposed to be gods but I found them rather confusing too. They had names but the names did not help me understand who they were or what their relationship to the mother Bear was. And the images did not really help with this. And often I found the images were perplexing as well.
The events in here, the things that happen to Poorling (who is the main character and she lives with the mother Bear) are easier to grasp and follow. And some of those events are tragic. There is definitely a strong horror element in here but I am unsure if its meant to be horror. I think it's just sort of showing daily life in a forest way back in ancient days. This story is based off of Finnish mythology which I am unfamiliar with but I guess the mythology says that Bear came out of the northern lights? Because that is what I see in here.
And even more strange in one scene I saw what looked like an astronaut in a suit? So yes, the stuff in here can be way out there. Very confusing.
The back of the book does have a list explaining who the characters like Emuu, Scaup and Mana are. In my personal opinion this should have been at the front of the book as it would have helped me to better understand the story! But I only found it after I was done. I still feel confused to tell you the truth! And I don't know if Scaup the bird is supposed to be a good or bad character? Or is Scaup a teacher? Scaup seemed to be teaching songs and possibly magic (fire?).
Are there bears in Finland? There must be if their myths contain bears.
August 3, 2023
3.5 stars
March 30, 2020
Yllättävän myyttisiin Sandman-henkisiin mytologioihin pudotteleva hienon tunnelman sarjakuvateos.
September 9, 2022
1.75⭐️
I had no clue what I was in for….then in the front flap it says “Finnish folklore”, so I was excited….
This book tells a lot of the story in images only and I found the whole thing very hard to understand the concept.
Warning for imagery and content; there is a “child” being who kills her brother bears to have their mom all to herself and also beings transforming into skeletons in death…
It got almost 2 stars for the interesting illustration style
I had no clue what I was in for….then in the front flap it says “Finnish folklore”, so I was excited….
This book tells a lot of the story in images only and I found the whole thing very hard to understand the concept.
Warning for imagery and content; there is a “child” being who kills her brother bears to have their mom all to herself and also beings transforming into skeletons in death…
It got almost 2 stars for the interesting illustration style
April 4, 2025
Beautiful illustrations!!! Very creative use of framing and color!!! I definitely want to look more into Finnish Folklore as I think I missed some context but it provides a good skeleton for those like me who didn’t know much jumping into the story. Enjoyable read, despite dark depictions, and the art truly engulfs you into the world!
January 19, 2019
Ihanan positiivinen yllätys! Sanoja vähän, mutta sisältöä sitäkin enemmän. Kaunis kertomus äideistä ja tyttäristä, monitulkintaisempi kuin osasin odottaa. Mytologia mahtavasti myös mukana. Kuvitus on todella kaunis, oivaltava. Värejä käytetty hillitysti ja harkiten, mikä toimii. Revontulien Aalto-maljakkomaiselle muodolle hieman hymähtelin.
August 30, 2020
5/5tähteä, aivan ehdottomasti!
Mari Ahokoivu räjäytti tajuntani tällä teoksellaan. Oksi on vahva tulkinta mytologiaa, äitien ja tyttärien välisiä suhteita ja ennen kaikkea kaunis, mystinen sarjakuva. Tämä teos liikutti jotain syvällä sisälläni.
Mari Ahokoivu räjäytti tajuntani tällä teoksellaan. Oksi on vahva tulkinta mytologiaa, äitien ja tyttärien välisiä suhteita ja ennen kaikkea kaunis, mystinen sarjakuva. Tämä teos liikutti jotain syvällä sisälläni.
August 13, 2023
This was a beautifully illustrated graphic novel based on Finnish folklore. The story is mysterious and atmospheric and heart wrenching. Loved this glimpse into Finnish mythology.
March 13, 2025
oh man. let me sit here for a second.
the illustration is gorgeous, the story is subtle and interpretable, and there's a sneaky bird with teeth.
the illustration is gorgeous, the story is subtle and interpretable, and there's a sneaky bird with teeth.
August 14, 2019
Kauniit piirrokset
August 30, 2023
Honestly I am not entirely sure I understood exactly what happened in this story BUT the artwork is gorgeous and the story was a lot darker than I thought it was going to be.... and I appreciated that! A really fun way to learn some Finnish folklore. I recommend!
December 6, 2023
Tämä jää kummottelemaan ajatuksiini pitkäksi aikaa.
December 30, 2021
3.5⭐
✨ "You are certainly no poorling."
A grim and dark tale that's also heartbreaking and beautiful. I love the colour palette and how it helps to tell the story: Predominantly black, with shades of grey and white, plus spots of red for blood and yellow rays of light, then splashes of colour in the epilogue.
The story was a bit confusing at times due to the minimal text but overall, this was a fascinating read and great introduction to Finnish folklore.
✨ "You are certainly no poorling."
A grim and dark tale that's also heartbreaking and beautiful. I love the colour palette and how it helps to tell the story: Predominantly black, with shades of grey and white, plus spots of red for blood and yellow rays of light, then splashes of colour in the epilogue.
The story was a bit confusing at times due to the minimal text but overall, this was a fascinating read and great introduction to Finnish folklore.
February 22, 2022
This is such an amazingly illustrated dark mythological story. I loved the way that the story unfolded about a strange child of a bear who left the spirit world to come to earth. The child learns magic and seems so different from her other cubs, and also rather dangerous. The illustrations in this were so gorgeous, and the way that color was used to show the magic was fantastic. It's quite violent and gruesome at times, but as long as you are okay with that, it's really stunning and very much worth picking up!
Content Warnings:
violence, murder, death of a family member, gore, toxic family relationships, isolation
Content Warnings:
violence, murder, death of a family member, gore, toxic family relationships, isolation
April 17, 2022
The art is undeniably beautiful. Love the watercolor style and the sparse use of color. I so desperately wish for a fully fleshed out novel of this, which, I know the art is supposed to make up for the lack of narration, but still, I am left wanting more. It all wraps up nicely and I can explain the story clearly because it all makes sense, but something feels missing. What is missing? Give me more! Ahhhhh!!!!
Kicking aside my personal woes, kudos to the author for providing 400 pages worth of quality art. I could never ask the author for more when they’ve already done the most. The emptiness in my never-ending hole of desire is for me to deal with by myself.
Kicking aside my personal woes, kudos to the author for providing 400 pages worth of quality art. I could never ask the author for more when they’ve already done the most. The emptiness in my never-ending hole of desire is for me to deal with by myself.
September 8, 2018
Kokonaisuutena häkellyttävän upea ja esineenäkin ylellinen sarjakuvakirja, jonka keskiössä on karhuäidin ja hänen omalaatuisen Parka-lapsensa suhde. Suomalaista mytologiaa on kuvitetty kiehtovalla tavalla. Mana ja tämän varjot naamioineen muistuttavat mukavalla tavalla Miyazakin hahmoja.
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August 19, 2019Helmet-kirjallisuuspalkintofinalisti 2019.
January 6, 2022
Gorgeous and wonderful and just a little heartbreaking, like all good fairytales are.
May 9, 2022
A dark, richly imagined, visually haunting, emotionally compelling graphic novel drawn from Finnish folklore. Originally published in Finland.
November 19, 2018
Hyvin vähäsanainen, vahvoin kuvin etenevä tarina erilaisesta karhunpennusta. Suomalainen metsämytologia on väkevästi läsnä ja suomalainen metsä on synkkä ja armoton. Kuvat ovat välillä hyvin raakoja, tapahtumat toki myös, välillä taas kuvissa on ilmavaa eteerisyyttä ja valoa, värejäkin. Hyvä kokemus siitä, kuinka nopeasti kuvitettu tarina ottaa sisäänsä kuvattuun verrattuna, ja siitä, kuinka vähän sanoja joskus tarvitaan. Äidin ja pennun välinen jännite on vahva teoksen alusta loppuun asti.
July 29, 2024
Olipas kauniisti maalattu ja piirretty sarjakuvateos, josta tarinan osalta en oikein saanut otetta. Suomalaista mytologista kuvastoa hyödyntävä tarina äitien ja tyttärien välisten suhteiden haastavuudesta oli mielestäni täynnä erinäistä haahuilua ja paljon pitkiä tunnelmaruutuja, joista huolimatta en kuitenkaan päässyt tunnnelmaan uppoutumaan ja jäi kovin ulkokohtaiseksi. Ei selkeästi ollut minun kirja tämä.
December 27, 2018
Mykistävän kaunis sarjakuvaromaani. Hahmoissa jotakin joka tuo mieleen Studio Ghiblin, tarina yhdistelmä fantasiaa ja suomalaista mytologiaa.
Takakannessa lukee simppelisti vain "laulu äidistä ja tyttäristä", mikä tuntuu hauskalta, kun ajattelee karhun perinteikästä kuvausta metsän kuninkaana. Kuningattarena tästä eteenpäin, siis. ;)
Tämän haluan ehdottomasti omaan hyllyyn!
Takakannessa lukee simppelisti vain "laulu äidistä ja tyttäristä", mikä tuntuu hauskalta, kun ajattelee karhun perinteikästä kuvausta metsän kuninkaana. Kuningattarena tästä eteenpäin, siis. ;)
Tämän haluan ehdottomasti omaan hyllyyn!
January 24, 2019
Tämän kirjan saamista odotin pitkään enkä pettynyt. Kuvitus on kaunista ja toimii teoksessa todella hyvin. Värejä käytetään hillitysti, mikä lisää tunnelmaa. Pidän myös yksinkertaistetusta, mutta samalla yksityiskohtaisesta tavasta piirtää. Kirjan tarina on hyvä ja pidän siitä, miten se käsittelee suomalaista mytologiaa.
Sijoitin Helmet-lukuhaaste 2019:n kohtaan:
42. Kirjailijan nimi viehättää sinua
Sijoitin Helmet-lukuhaaste 2019:n kohtaan:
42. Kirjailijan nimi viehättää sinua
Displaying 1 - 30 of 337 reviews