{"product_id":"backlight-9781949641806","title":"Backlight","description":"\u003cb\u003ePirkko Saisio, now a teenager, can't decide which she hates most: God, her father, or her growing breasts.\u003c\/b\u003e Grandpa has moved into the room long promised to her, and Mother, overworked and distant, tries to keep the peace between her headstrong daughter and husband. When she's not escaping into her books, Pirkko has fun getting into trouble. That is until her Finnish teacher suggests she might have what it takes to be a real writer, but only if she is willing to work hard and make certain sacrifices. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eYears later, Pirkko spends the historic summer of 1968 working at a Swiss orphanage. The world is shifting around her, and to make matters even more complicated: she's homesick. At the orphanage no one understands her German, and away from home for the first time, she struggles to make sense of her suppressed queerness. In \u003ci\u003eBacklight\u003c\/i\u003e, the Finlandia Prize-winning author looks backward and inward, once again emerging, in Mia Spangenberg's sensitive translation, with an intimate portrait of a life lived in language.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSpangenberg, Mia:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cb\u003eMia Spangenberg\u003c\/b\u003e translates from Finnish, Swedish, and German into English. Her work has been published in Finland and the UK, and appeared in journals such as \u003ci\u003eLitHub\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eAsymptote\u003c\/i\u003e. She holds a Ph.D. in Scandinavian studies from the University of Washington, Seattle, where she resides with her family.\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSaisio, Pirkko:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cb\u003ePirkko Saisio\u003c\/b\u003e (b. 1949) studied drama and completed her actor's training in 1975. Her debut novel \u003ci\u003eThe Course of Life\u003c\/i\u003e (Elämänmeno, 1975) won the J. H. Erkko Award. Saisio has been nominated for the Finlandia Prize seven times, winning it in with \u003ci\u003eThe Red Book of Farewells\u003c\/i\u003e (\u003ci\u003ePunainen erokirja\u003c\/i\u003e, 2003). She has, among other awards, received Aleksis Kivi Prize and State Literature Award. Apart from novels, she has written numerous plays and scripts for film and television and is a well-known theatre director.\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Two Lines Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51324762685714,"sku":"9781949641806","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_ebd37e63-b6eb-48df-a30e-3c72655a8987.jpg?v=1748700436","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/backlight-9781949641806","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}