Elliot Steeves-
Antti Tuomainen, a renowned novelist of crime fiction from Finland, will visit Gustavus for one week from April 22nd through the 27th. The visit is part of the Scandinavian Studies department’s ongoing “Out of Scandinavia” program, which has brought important artists, writers, and figures from Scandinavian arts and culture to Gustavus’ campus since 1989.
Tuomainen will visit several different classes throughout the week, ranging from Russophone Literature with Annelise Rivas and Scandinavian Crime Fiction with Ursula Lindqvist, to more general classes like Writing Fiction with Eric Vrooman and Introduction to Creative Writing with Rebecca Fremo and Philip Bryant. He will also visit the Writing Center during their staff meeting, and even Introduction to Statistics Literacy with Ella Burnham.
Tuomainen has written a large amount of renowned fiction, ranging from his earlier dark noir work to more recent and comedic ventures. His most-known books include 2018’s The Man Who Died, and 2022’s The Rabbit Factor.
“His novels are almost always about crime,” Scandinavian Studies Professor Ursula Lindqvist said. “They are preposterous, and there is always a weird motif of an ordinary Joe getting the woman of his dreams. In that sense, it’s modeled a bit on his own life.”
Lindqvist commented on how Finnish humor is very unique and dry. Because of this, Tuomainen’s novels have been heavily read and laughed at. As a result, Tuomainen has put Finland on the map in a lot of ways, talking about what makes Finland itself.
“I appreciate it from the perspective of someone who can translate his humor into language,” Lindqvist said. “My family roots are in Finland, and I have dual citizenship. His humor is so typically Finnish. It takes a minute to get it, and then you howl with laughter!”
Tuomainen also engages with a lot of stereotypes about Finnish culture.
“Even if we are entirely new to Finland, he makes these archetypes so endearing,” Lindqvist said. “You want to root for the underdog when you read him.”
Two students in Scandinavian Crime Fiction, Seniors Cerise Metz and Leah Thompson talked about goofily reenacting a scene from The Man Who Died from their desks in class.
“It wasn’t huge; we just read from our desks,” Thompson said. “Sometimes, Lindqvist wants us to read from our desks so that the class can hear passages out loud.”
Both the students also concurred that Tuomainen’s bibliography was an interesting look at a new cultural perspective.
“We don’t often think of death as being associated with comedy,” Metz said. “There are small cultural aspects contained in Tuomainen’s writing if you look closely enough. It gives more cultural insight that you might not understand, and helps a lot of people with understanding Finnish culture.”
The Out of Scandinavia residency generally focuses on bringing in guests who will resonate with students, and whose work students have connected with.
“Tuomainen was hands down students’ favorite crime fiction author,” Lindqvist said. “He will be extremely engaged, and will be active with our students throughout the week.”
Tuomainen was also extremely easy to reach out to on social media.
“I just reached out to him on Facebook and asked him to come,” Lindqvist said. “He is so humble and down to earth, and is extremely enthusiastic. We were really grateful that Antti was so available.”
All those interviewed were sure that Tuomainen would bring a much-needed jolt of humor and realness at a time in our semester when all of us need it.
“He is a writer at the top of his craft, and anyone would benefit from coming and listening to him,” Lindqvist said.
“If anyone wants to learn more about Finland, and the process behind one of the greatest Scandinavian writers, they should definitely attend one of the events,” Thompson said.
“Finland is not only fun, it is also dark and comedic,” Metz said. “Tuomainen would love to tell us about it, and immerse us into his thought process behind creating these wonderful novels.”