The power of storytelling is, in any case, one of the novel’s themes.
Lumenlaulaja is a work that strikes an emotional chord, immersing the reader in a world drawn from Finnish national mythology. The life stories of its characters are carefully crafted. The details of nature are depicted enchantingly, and the narration flows effortlessly. This rich whole shines and sparks like the forge of a smith hammering a patterned blade.
Snowsinger
Everything in the world has a synty, a birth-song that holds the roots of our true essence. Whoever knows the synty of a thing or creature has the power to control it.
I have never revealed mine to anyone. Not until now.
Follow the roots of my synty into the stone-hill of the North, follow them beyond nine locks and shackles, into the heart of the earth itself. Learn their precise shape, learn to sense their shifts and to hear their whispers. Get as comfortable as you can, close your eyes if it feels too hard to keep them open. That I will permit.
But you must listen to my birth-song before you go.
Sometimes a woman has no choice but to transform herself into an enormous bird of prey.
Louhi’s spellbinding origin story takes us into a mythical past, a world of magic and shapeshifting. Lauha is living her childhood in Pohjola, where strong women rule the society and each one of them has her own spell-shape or animal form. The hardships of defending her home and keeping her family safe turn Lauha into Louhi, a woman that many fear.
Snowsinger (Lumenlaulaja) is out in Finnish in August 2025. It is a feminist retelling of the Finnish national epic The Kalevala from the point of view of the main antagonist Louhi, a powerful witch who is capable of controlling the weather and transforming into a giant eagle.
Reviews
Awards
Runeberg Literary Prize
Snowsinger
Shortlisted for the 2026 Runeberg Literary Prize
Newspaper Uusimaa, Porvoo City, Union of Finnish Writers, Finland-Swedish Society of Swedish Authors in Finland, The Finnish Critics’ Association
Shadow Runeberg Literary Prize
Snowsinger
Winner: voted by readers as their favourite of the Runeberg Literary Prize 2026 shortlist
Reader vote