Memory of Ocean

A masterful account of Norwegian Lapland in the 1980s, its Kven minority and their integration into the society, the inheritance of trauma, oil drilling and the early stages of marine protection.

Northern Norway in the 1980s: Aapa, a woman of Kven origin, returns to northern Norway to explore the Arctic oil reserves after a decade of absence.

In the meantime, Norway has been enriched with oil, and nothing is as it used to be. Aapa faces the trauma of the past in her hometown, and little by little it becomes apparent that things are not exactly the way Aapa lets the reader understand. She proves to be an unreliable narrator who intentionally twists the past. But what has really happened to her late mother?

A travel diary takes the reader aboard an Ice- breaker in quest of oil in the Artic Ocean where the sun never rises.

In a second plotline, an unknow narrator examines the changes caused by global warming in the Artic Ocean for a documentary and reveals that the biggest players of the oil industry were already in 1959 aware of their dangerous impact on nature and climate change. Instead of acting, the industry opted for a strong counter narrative.

Like Land of Snow and Ashes, Memory of Ocean reads like a thriller and only at its very last pages reveals a baffling twist which overthrows all previous assumptions.

A masterful account of Norwegian Lapland in the 1980s, its Kven minority and their integration into the society, the inheritance of trauma, oil drilling and the early stages of marine protection.

Northern Norway in the 1980s: Aapa, a woman of Kven origin, returns to northern Norway to explore the Arctic oil reserves after a decade of absence.

In the meantime, Norway has been enriched with oil, and nothing is as it used to be. Aapa faces the trauma of the past in her hometown, and little by little it becomes apparent that things are not exactly the way Aapa lets the reader understand. She proves to be an unreliable narrator who intentionally twists the past. But what has really happened to her late mother?

A travel diary takes the reader aboard an Ice- breaker in quest of oil in the Artic Ocean where the sun never rises.

In a second plotline, an unknow narrator examines the changes caused by global warming in the Artic Ocean for a documentary and reveals that the biggest players of the oil industry were already in 1959 aware of their dangerous impact on nature and climate change. Instead of acting, the industry opted for a strong counter narrative.

Like Land of Snow and Ashes, Memory of Ocean reads like a thriller and only at its very last pages reveals a baffling twist which overthrows all previous assumptions.

info

  • Year of publication

    2022

  • Original title

    Meren muisti

  • Page count

    300

  • Original publisher

    Otava Publishing

  • Original language of publication

    Finnish

  • Rights sold

    The NetherlandsItalyDenmarkNorwayFranceSweden

Reviews

  • Savon Sanomat - Johanna Suominen

    "Petra Rautiainen’s Memory of Ocean is an important novel: it is starling and effective, it makes the reader ponder on the actions of humans, our history, and our entire relationship to our creation. It is the story of a small person, Aapa, but at the same time it is a story about so much more."

  • Suomen Kuvalehti

    ”Rautiainen intertwines the environment consequences with a tragic individual story that has more power to appeal feelings than a rough factual text.”

  • Kirjavinkit

    “Memory of Ocean is a concisely-structured novel ... yet the book manages to address several issues. … The perspectives in the book feel new and refreshing. It finely weaves together the whole vulnerable northern ecosystem with its humans and animals. The ocean remembers and eventually so does the human. … This is a beautiful book – both as an object and a narrative. Petra Rautiainen, through her second book, reasserts her position as a fascinating author who addresses historical subjects by offering new perspectives.”

  • Kulttuuri kukoistaa Blog

    "Petra Rautiainen is an excellent writer who astonishingly combines a beautifully thought-out text and even an exquisite dreaminess with hard realism. So evidently, you can do this too!"

  • Le Monde

    "A celebration of the Great North and its people, this beautiful, sensitive novel is also a cry of alarm. 'Memory of Ocean' invites us to review, at all latitudes, the scale of our collective priorities."

  • – Bibliotekstjänst

    "This poignant book makes you tearful and angry. But above all, it raises questions about the exploitation of the sea in a world affected by climate change... Petra Rautiainen shows that changes are possible. A powerful reading experience!’ Rating 5 out of 5 = Brilliant"

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