New Finnish Grammar

"Does memory exist without language, the author wonders. To what extent does language define who we are, our past and our future, our national identity and our personality? A psychological thriller about a man in search of his past and, at the same time, a tender journey into the psyche of a lost man.”

Author : Marani, Diego

Edition : Aiora Press

Marani, Diego. New Finish Grammar. Athens: Aiora Press, 2015. (Μ MAR)

“As World War II is raging throughout Europe, one night in 1943, in Trieste, an unconscious and seriously wounded soldier is found on the quay by the sailors of the German vessel Tübingen. He is a man without identification documents, without memory, a man who cannot even remember what language he speaks. A tag sewn inside his seaman’s jacket and a handkerchief with the initials S.K. lead the vessel’s Finnish doctor to the conclusion that the injured patient is Sampo Karjalainen, a Finnish soldier. Thus, the doctor sends him back to Helsinki to search for his past and his lost memory. There, in a place foreign to him, yet very charming, the search for his identity continues with the help of an enigmatic Lutheran curate and a kind-hearted nurse, until the truth finally emerges. Does memory exist without language, the author wonders. To what extent does language define who we are, our past and our future, our national identity and our personality? A psychological thriller about a man in search of his past and, at the same time, a tender journey into the psyche of a lost man.”

The novel was awarded the “Grinzane Cavour Literary Prize 2001,” “Ostia Mare Literary Prize 2001” and “Giuseppe Desi Prize 2001,” as well as being a candidate for the “Independent Foreign Fiction Prize 2012.”

- from the book’s back cover

Read more in Greek …

Βιογραφικό σημείωμα του συγγραφέα

Diego Marani «Ο Ιταλός Ντιέγκο Μαράνι (Φεράρα 1959) εργάζεται στην Ευρωπαϊκή Επιτροπή στις Βρυξέλες, όπου ασχολείται με την προώθηση της πολυγλωσσίας. Εκτός από την πολυβραβευμένη Νέα φινλανδική γραμματική, έχει γράψει και άλλα μυθιστορήματα που επίσης μεταφράστηκαν και κυκλοφορούν με επιτυχία σε πολλές χώρες. Ο Ντιέγκο Μαράνι επινόησε την Europanto, μια γλώσσα-παιχνίδι (ένα κράμα λέξεων από ευρωπαϊκές γλώσσες) στην οποία έγραψε μια συλλογή διηγημάτων και πολλά άρθρα για ευρωπαϊκές εφημερίδες.»