Riikka Pulkkinen

Riikka Pulkkinen (1980) studied philosophy and literature in Helsinki. She broke through in 2009 with her debut novel The Border, which made a strong impact in Finland and quickly brought her international recognition. In 2011 she published True, and now there is her new novel Stranger.

In Stranger, Pulkkinen tells the story of Maria, a pastor who flees Helsinki—and with it her husband—after an incident that has become unbearable for her. In the refuge of New York, Maria must both come to terms with her past and confront a range of new experiences. A lover and a dancer force her to reflect and push her toward a renewed connection with her own body.

Date: Thursday 6 March
Location: BorderKitchen, Kerkstraat 11, 2514 KP The Hague
Start: 20.00

The novel Stranger is translated from Finnish by Annemarie Raas and published by De Arbeiderspers. This BorderKitchen event is organised in collaboration with the Finnish Cultural Institute for the Benelux. Riikka Pulkkinen will be interviewed in English by Arjan Peters (de Volkskrant).

Press on Stranger:

“Discovered and delivered: the female Paolo Giordano.” – Humo

“Riikka Pulkkinen is the literary talent of the North. She does not shy away from big themes such as love, infidelity, illness and death, yet her work is remarkably free of heaviness.” – Opzij

“Pulkkinen writes as if she has long belonged at the top of literature.” – Het Financieele Dagblad