Das rote Buch der Abschiede

Saisio has forever changed the cultural atmosphere in which we live. Pirkko Saisio's award-winning novel tells the story of sexual and artistic liberation. Its protagonist searches for love in Helsinki and fights for self-determination at a time when art and communism form a sinister alliance and queer love only exists underground. Discovering Pirkko Saisio's work is a literary sensation.

Her mother wants to send her to the doctor, as she is considered criminal in public. And yet, when a classmate tells her, "There are also women who love women," it is a liberating moment. The young woman from the working class still feels out of place in the underground bars of Helsinki, where queer love and intellectual conversations go hand in hand. It is only with her acceptance into the student theater that she sheds her insecurity. However, the ticket to art costs her dearly, not least because the theater is closely intertwined with the machinery of the communist revolution.

In a series of farewells—from her parental home, from the idealism of youth, and from the women she loves—this incredible new discovery from Finland tells of love, art, and self-determination. "A beautiful hymn to survival. Pirkko Saisio dissects the hidden codes of relationships. Like no one else, she finds words for the feeling of waiting at the bar for someone who never shows up."

"Pirkko Saisio is probably the best living author in Finland. She is wise, profound, funny, educated, and of course, a divine storyteller."

"The Red Book of Farewells tells of the discovery of artistic ambition and the sources of inspiration and—without a doubt—of love. The red coloring in this book stands for love, but also for politics. Saisio's style and her self-irony are infallible.".