©Otto Virtanen

Ida Pimenoff: I Wasn’t There

How many times can you abandon someone?

Vera is an artistic thirty-nine-year-old woman, pursuing a career while navigating life as a single parent in Helsinki. As a child, Vera’s father walked out on her, only to start afresh with a new wife and kids – something that Vera has spent years unpacking the effects of with her therapist. When Vera’s partner Aki leaves her for another woman, she is determined to ensure that their son has a happier childhood than she did.

Original title: Kutsu minut. WSOY 2021, 389 pp.
Foreign rights: Bonnier Rights Finland, bonnierrights.fi