Mikael Niemi Libri

Nel silenzio compatto della sua villetta di legno, il vecchio Martin Udde giace con la bocca e lo stomaco spalancati, infilzato da una fiocina per salmoni, mentre qualcosa si carbonizza sul fornello acceso. Chi ha turbato la pace della sperduta cittadina di Pajala, sospesa nel tempo e nelle foreste del selvaggio nord? Inviata da Stoccolma, la detective Therese Fossnes si ritrova straniera in un mondo arroccato sulle proprie radici, che della Svezia rifiuta non solo il progresso, ma anche la lingua. Sotto il sole implacabile dell'estate artica, tra irriducibili attivisti politici, sadici rapinatori di anziani e lo strano fascino di un uomo dei boschi come Esaias, indiziato numero uno, Therese ha una sola certezza: l'omicidio ha a che fare con il menkieli, il finlandese parlato da questa minoranza di confine in crisi d'identità, che da oltre un secolo ha l'amo svedese conficcato nella spina dorsale. Suspense nera e atmosfere alla fratelli Coen in un poliziesco crudo, lirico, irriverente, che si cala nel cuore ferito di un popolo con l'ironia e il potere visionario della grande scrittura.

New York, early 1930s. A mysterious, laconic Irish colossus known as 'Giant' sweats blood, along with his fellow immigrants, to build the skyscrapers of Rockefeller Center. For a while, he has not received a reply to the typewritten letters he continues to send, as well as money, to the other side of the ocean, to Mary Ann, the wife of one of his colleagues who died accidentally. Giant, who seems to be afraid of nothing, still has not found the courage to reveal to the young woman that she is a widow ... What does her silence mean? An entrancing everyday working-class tale with the majestic background of the rising skyscrapers of New York.

In the summer of 1852, in Kengis village in northern Sweden, revivalist preacher Lars Levi Laestadius saves a young Sami boy named Jussi from a life of abuse and neglect. As Jussi becomes Laestadius's devoted disciple, the preacher introduces him to the wonders of botany, teaching him about plants, literacy, and faith. During this revivalist period, Laestadius's fervent sermons inspire the local community, leading many to abandon alcohol for a more profound spiritual life, which angers local authorities concerned about their dwindling profits. Amidst this backdrop, a maid goes missing in the forest, followed by another disappearance. One is found dead, the other injured, and suspicion falls on a predatory bear. While the constable offers a reward for the bear's capture, Laestadius suspects a more sinister threat. Alongside Jussi, he delves into the investigation, transforming into an amateur forensic expert, oblivious to the encroaching danger. This gripping narrative not only entertains but also explores profound philosophical questions, resonating with themes found in works by Victor Hugo and Marilynne Robinson. The story captivates readers, drawing them into its vivid world and emotional depth. Translated from Swedish by Deborah Bragan-Turner.

"On the German front, in the spring of 1945: the war leaves only death and destruction in its wake. To escape the horror of the present, Al, an American soldier, the only survivor of his unit, immerses himself in the memories of his New York life. Son of German immigrants, born in the United States, he was not yet ten years old when, in one night, under the approving eyes of anti-immigrant Americans, he lost his parents and his home in a terrible fire. Turning his back on his origins, Al has no choice but to live on the streets; he becomes a Bootblack, a shoe shiner. With his friend Shiny, they somehow manage to survive by sticking together. Six years later, in 1935, they meet Buster and the ambitious Diddle Joe. And then there's Maggie, the girl Al is in love with and whose esteem he ardently longs for. And this, even as she makes it clear to him that they do not live in the same world. New York offers no future for the poor, Al understood that. He is therefore determined to earn more money, whatever the means. But he does not imagine, at that point, that the war which threatens will soon give him an appointment with his past..."--Amazon.com

Winner of the equivalent of the Booker prize for Sweden, Mikael Niemi's narrative of a young lad growing up in an isolated town in the Sweden of the 1960s is a story of longing.

Harlem, 1931. In the heart of the Great Depression, invention is the mother of necessity to make ends meet. Sté phanie St. Clair, known as ' Queenie', had already understood this when she landed in New York almost twenty years before. Inventiveness when you are a woman and you are black is much more than a necessity. It's a question of survival. In a few years, this young immigrant West Indian servant freed herself from the weight of ancestral servitude. Even better, she created her own American dream: the underground Harlem numbers game. Hers is an ascent that makes people cringe, both with the local authorities and the white mafia. Dutch Schultz, aka. the Dutchman, an unscrupulous mafioso, intends to take control of the kingdom of the "Frenchy." But that's without taking into account the determination and impetuosity of Queenie, whose heavy past continues to guide her steps... After the critically acclaimed Giant and Bootblack, Mikaë l takes us to the Harlem of the prohibition for the final chapter of his New York triptych in sumptuous chiaroscuro, to meet a woman as strong as she is enigmatic.

Ein Dorf in Nordschweden 1852. Jussi entflieht seinem Elternhaus, wo Gewalt, Hunger und Alkohol regieren, und wird von dem protestantische Geistlichen Laestadius unter seine Fittiche genommen. Der vielseitig gebildete Erweckungsprediger lehrt den völlig vernachlässigten samischen Jungen nicht nur lesen und schreiben, er teilt mit ihm auch seine Begeisterung für die heimische Flora und Fauna. Als ein Mädchen tot im Wald gefunden wird - allem Anschein nach das Opfer eines Bären – geraten die Dorfbewohner in Aufruhr. Angestachelt von der Belohnung, die der Gendarm ausgelobt hat, locken sie das Tier in eine Falle und töten es. Nur Laestadius und Jussi glauben nicht, dass der Bär der Schuldige ist, denn die vermeintlichen Bärenspuren waren gefälscht. Als ein weiteres Mädchen verschwindet, ahnen die beiden nicht, in welcher Gefahr sie selbst schweben: Jemand sucht einen Sündenbock, und Laestadius hat sich mit seiner aufklärerischen Arbeit viele Feinde gemacht.

Geschichten aus der fernen Zukunft: grandios komisch, ungeheuer verwegen, absolut unterhaltsam Pajala ist überall! Neues vom Autor des Bestsellers „Populärmusik aus Vittula“. Und die schwedische Presse ist erneut begeistert: „Wir wußten es schon immer. Nun sind die letzten Zweifel beseitigt: Mikael Niemi spinnt. Aber auf so verdammt brillante Weise, dass wir ihm bedingungslos folgen, wohin immer er geht.“ Diesmal führt er uns in die ferne Zukunft, in einen Alltag, der in all seiner Skurrilität, seinen Irrungen und Wirrungen doch sehr dem Leben im nördlichen Schweden ähnelt.

Třináctiletý Matti uposlechne tajemného volání svého rodu a začíná naplňovat svoje poslání – boj proti Zlu, představovanému náhle oživlými ďáblíky. V paralelním snovém světě prochází rituálním zasvěcením a stává se šamanem. Pomáhají mu jeho dva věrní kamarádi, krásná Malin, do níž je tajně zamilován, a Simon s darem jasnozřivosti. Pak přicházejí i další pomocníci – záhadný dědek s darem zastavovat krvácení a kouzelný šamanský nůž. Naprosto netradičním způsobem se dostaví i magické zvíře, které stojí po boku každého šamana. Kdo zvítězí – mladý šaman, nebo ohavná horda nelítostných ďáblíků?

Niemis Held ist 16 Jahre und teilt seine Klasse in Arschgeigen und Idioten ein. Die Arschgeigen bekommen alles auf dem Silbertablett serviert. Die Idioten rackern sich ab und kommen trotzdem nie auf einen grünen Zweig. Niemis Held ist fest entschlossen, weder das eine noch das andere zu werden. Lieber provoziert er mit seinen Aktionen, als einfach klein beizugeben. Dadurch macht er sich zwar Feinde, aber auch einige Freunde. Wie das Mädchen mit den grünen Augen aus dem Musischen Zweig. Oder Pålle, den sie mobben, weil er aus schwierigen Familienverhältnissen stammt. Doch den Arschgeigen werden sie es schon zeigen – und auch der übrigen Welt …