Hatching

By Johanna Laitila

A chilling and stirring literary novel about the thirst for power, irresistible addiction, and hatred constantly crossing to lust. The intense events of the story wrap around historic turning points in an utterly surprising way. It’s the year 1917 in Helsinki. Aleksanteri is leading a secluded life translating German literature and playing Chopin on the piano. The lonely existence is interrupted only by the housekeeper, Hilda’s and lover, Elna’s visits. Through the thin walls, Aleksanteri listens to the nightly sounds coming from the new neighbour, a Russian journalist in hiding. The flats separated by a wall are like two chambers of the heart where the men secretly listen to each other. A peculiar kind of a relationship is formed, defined by a simultaneous fascination and repulsion. Little by little, the social masks people usually wear lose all meaning between the two. In 1912 in Helsinki, a young woman listens to the beat of her own heart, trying to navigate between the city turned hostile to her condition and the life growing inside her. Unexpectedly, these two narratives come together in the end, colliding. Hatching is an exploration into our corporal existence with metaphors and imagery that reach to the grotesque as well as to beauty and musicality. The novel depicts lust and revulsion, and an obsession that makes life almost unbearable.  

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About the author

Johanna Laitila (b. 1986) was born in the Arctic city of Rovaniemi, Northern Finland. For several years, she lived on the east coast of Scotland, and she still calls St Andrews her other home. In Scotland, Laitila studied, researched and taught English literature and film. She did her PhD at the University of St Andrews’ School of English, and her monograph, Melodrama, Self, and Nation in Post-War British Popular Film, was published by Routledge (2018).Laitila’s first novel, Lilium Regale (2019), was praised for its unique language and poetic realism. Hatching (2020) is her second novel, rewritten in English by the accomplished author herself. Laitila’s writing is characterised by her original voice and fierce, lyrical use of language. Her multi-layered prose celebrates the power of senses and the melody of words. In her works, language and the body are intertwined and in perpetual search for connection. As an author, Laitila is interested in exploring different ways of using and abusing power, as well as revealing the blind spots of history and stories that have been silenced. The nuances of gender identity and sexuality are at the core of both Hatching and Lilium Regale.In her upcoming third novel, The Thirst for Snow, the author writes about lost language and forgotten roots. The story examines the future of the North, as its characteristic nature is disappearing, and portrays mourning for a culture one is alienated from.