The Winter War
Published on 15. January 2015
Book
Hardback
304 pages
978-1-78125-488-2 (ISBN)
Description
On the surface, the Paul family are living the liberal, middle-class Scandinavian dream. Max Paul is a renowned sociologist and his wife Katriina has a well-paid job in the public sector. They live in an airy apartment in the centre of Helsinki. But look closer and the cracks start to show.
As he approaches his sixtieth birthday, the certainties of Max's life begin to dissolve. He hasn't produced any work of note for decades. His wife no longer loves him. His grown-up daughters - one in London, one in Helsinki - have problems of their own. So when a former student turned journalist shows up and offers him a seductive lifeline, Max starts down a dangerous path from which he may never find a way back.
Funny, sharp, and brilliantly truthful, Teir's debut has the feel of a big, contemporary, humane American novel, but with a distinctly Scandinavian edge.
As he approaches his sixtieth birthday, the certainties of Max's life begin to dissolve. He hasn't produced any work of note for decades. His wife no longer loves him. His grown-up daughters - one in London, one in Helsinki - have problems of their own. So when a former student turned journalist shows up and offers him a seductive lifeline, Max starts down a dangerous path from which he may never find a way back.
Funny, sharp, and brilliantly truthful, Teir's debut has the feel of a big, contemporary, humane American novel, but with a distinctly Scandinavian edge.
Reviews / Votes
Presented as Scandinavia's answer to Jonathan Franzen, Teir offers a similarly sardonic yet sympathetic critique of a multi-generational family...remarkable eye for human behaviour...an intelligent debut -- Hayden East * Telegraph * cool yet compassionate...bitingly funny...engrossing * The Lady * funny, sharply observed and very readable * Press Association * Written with unshowy care and thought...there's something Anglo-Americanly, unScandinavianly familiar about the way Teir tackles these domestic and emotional entanglements - only with weird Finnish names, very heavy snowfall and temperatures that reach -20 Celsius -- Harry Ritchie * Daily Mail * sharply observed novel...Teir is a highly regarded Scandinavian writer and his creation Max lives in Helsinki, but this quietly devastating picture of middle-class disaffection could just as well be set in Islington. Shot through with understated black humour and nicely balanced between tender and acerbic, this impressive novel is a forceful reminder that there is much more to Scandinavian writing than crime fiction -- Phil Baker * Sunday Times * Quietly absorbing...well-conceived domestic drama...While the book may be acid about Helsinki's middle class, it is not cynical. Indeed, there is warmth even in its darkest moments -- Josh de la Mare * FT * Somewhere between Richard Yates and John Updike, but with a Nordic temperament that is cooler ... Teir writes about an academic middle class family with a realism that is both ironically compassionate and warmly critical * Expressen * Little short of brilliant ... The Winter War is firmly rooted in an Anglo-Saxon tradition, alongside writers such as Julian Barnes, Alan Hollinghurst and Jeffrey Eugenides * Joenkoepings-Posten *More details
Edition
Main
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Profile Books Ltd
Product notice
Trade binding
Dimensions
Height: 222 mm
Width: 144 mm
Thickness: 29 mm
Weight
489 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-78125-488-2 (9781781254882)
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Other editions
Additional editions
Persons
Finland-Swede Philip Teir is considered one of the most promising young writers in Scandinavia. His poetry and short stories have been included in anthologies, including Granta Finland. The Winter War is his first novel. He is married with two children and lives in Helsinki, Finland, in the same neighbourhood as the Paul family.