Suomenlinna

A resident of the island fortress of Suomenlinna, off the coast of Helsinki, Mirkka is hardly the most popular of 15-year-olds. Filled with an untargeted resentment and unresolved complexes, she spends her days listening to death metal and watching and re-watching the cult film The Wicker Man with other social outcasts. Mirkka and her friends believe in the supremacy of the “Nordic race” and the rites and traditions of the ancient Vikings and reject all foreign influence, which they blame for the decay of their country. When they discover that the usual pizza delivery man has been replaced by a black man, events come to a head. Brilliantly capturing the disaffection of youth, this powerful and brief novel will remain with readers long after they have finished it.