“Hanna Meretoja’s Elotulet is a brilliant novel. It is immensely inspiring, a narrative that praises life and humanity in its diverse lights and shades, a kind of ode to life and love. Anyone who reflects on nature and humanity and their relationship should read this book.”
by Matti Taneli in Vartija
by Olavi Hiltunen in Satakunnan Kansa
“Meretoja’s debut novel is a direct hit. Particularly praiseworthy is the way the narrator links the events of the novel to the pandemic. The novel tells about a time that has shaken hands with death. Elotulet is also a very stylish literary work. The narration with its richly coloured imagery is characterized by precision. The narration is impressively graphic. It feels as if one were reading a war book written by a veteran.”
“Elotulet lyrically explores illness and the openness of human existence. It contracts time to a few hours but is able to include in them major epiphanies. The overarching theme is the philosophical implication of illness. Elea wants to find out why our society approaches life and death the way it does. The novel is pervaded by an understanding of the transience of life and its slow acceptance. Although the sea is a much-used element in literary fiction, in Elotulet it feels fresh. Water reflects continuity and the chain of generations as well as embodiedness. It is linked to the climate crisis, pollution, and the pandemic. Sentences of the novel linger with the reader like lines of a poem.”
By Sara Harju in Turun Sanomat
“This novel by a literary scholar reflects on illness in a praiseworthy, multifaceted way”: “an intricate drama” and “an expansive texture of ideas”.
by Jukka Koskelainen in Helsingin Sanomat
”Elegiacally classic first novel with powerful language”
by Heidi Lakkala in Kaleva
“The extremely beautiful language takes the reader to a memorable August night. Illness and the feelings it gives rise to are important in this novel but other big themes also feature, such as climate change, the pandemic, and involuntary childlessness. The book is full of references to literature and philosophy; these fit successfully into the novel and add to its complexity and to the polyphony formed by the characters’ speech and thoughts. I will leave behind the Chekhovian atmosphere that the novel created with a sense of longing. A brilliant debut novel.”
by Marin kirjaillat in literary blog
by Tiina Mahlamäki, literary blog Nostetaan teksti pöydälle
“Elotulet is a one-evening-novel about a get-together among friends who are celebrating the last evening of August. It is literary art in which individual experience opens up to tell us something universal about being human. The text is full of wise and insightful thoughts that one immediately wants to write down. This is a bold novel.”
”Meretoja verbalizes brilliantly the ideas and feelings that result from serious illness and the need to confront the finitude of life.”
“I enjoyed Meretoja’s way of writing, the text flows nicely and it is rewarding to delve into the inner worlds of the characters.”
by Mikko Saari in Kirjavinkit
“Despite its heavy topic, Elotulet is written in a lucid and flowing manner.”
”Elotulet is a cornucopia bursting with book vitamin in the form of lyrical language, metaphors, intertextuality, intelligence, theory, and a good story.”
by Pirkko Ilmanen in Kirjavinkkari
”The language of the novel is beautiful and poetic, the archipelago nature has an important role and climate change emerges as one of the themes. You want to savour many sentences, they are so insightful. Several references to literature and medicine are entwined with the experiences of the characters. Meretoja verbalizes with penetrating insightfulness feelings that emerge from illness.”
In Lukukausi literary blog
In Anna Magazine
“The tensions between the characters live and find new ways, as they need to come face-to-face with painful ideas of loss, ending and the limitations of life. [–] Despite everything, in the night of the ancient lights, there is hope and a strong lust for life.”
“This is a substantial novel full of wise thoughts that I want to write down and to which I want to return. Elotulet is a beautiful and thought-provoking novel.”
in Kirjakaapin kummitus, literary blog
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Hanna Meretoja 