The Golden Deer
Vibrant and wild like a folk ballad, The Golden Deer is a compelling ‘Karelian Gothic’ novel inspired by epic folk tales. Braiding superstition, language, and illicit love with a sprinkling of mystical fantasy, Miina Supinen delivers an absorbing and spirited narrative in this, her fifth novel.
1880s Karelia: defying societal obligations to marry, Mathilda ‘Tilda’ Sommer instead leaves the comfort of her childhood home in Vyborg for a teacher’s seminary in a small town on the northern shores of the great Lake Ladoga. There, Tilda quickly befriends another trainee teacher, Jelena Päästäinen, a mysterious young Karelian woman who is a ward of her uncle, Kiril, a shadowy businessman alleged to associate with dark forces. As an illicit love between the two women begins to bud, they investigate the suspicious death of a local maid and are drawn into a bigger adventure that sets them on a course towards danger.
Abundant with mysticism, joyful humour, and spellbinding history, The Golden Deer reinvents the historical novel, with coiled motifs reminiscent of The Essex Serpent and the adventure of Madeleine’s Miller’s Kirke.
Reading material:
Finnish edition & PDF
Sample translation (72 pp)
Synopsis
Publishing information
Reviews
"The novel brings strong visions to life in an amusing way. (...) This is the kind of love that is rarely told in domestic historical novels. In this respect, too, Supinen writes a new kind of history. (...) In The Golden Deer, Supinen also creates a language of her own: its tone is old-fashioned, and it emerges, among other things, from word choice and word order. The language is vivid and beholds richness and fullness, joy, fury, wit, and festivity at the same time. (...) At the same time as it praises the author's own family roots, this skilful and vivid novel celebrates the heritage of the Eastern culture that is a part of Finnishness. We must not forget it, even if we cannot cross the border. Instead, we must cherish the living Karelianism that we currently have within the borders of Finland, in North and South Karelia. (...) Such great timing to present this work now.
“The Golden Deer shows that Miina Supinen deserves the magic cloak of a revered storyteller. She is clearly of Karelian storyteller stock.”
“Pages that ooze with joy.”
”A beautifully crafted historical novel that combines mystery, folklore and the portrayal of women's life choices.(…) Supinen’s stunning narrative and accurate descriptions of places and the era create an enjoyable and multi-layered reading experience.”
