Passing Things is a collection of short fiction that turns the spotlight on the souls who find themselves on the margins of society. Through a myriad of voices, we follow parents who steal medications from their children, a mother who abandons her children in the blink of an eye when she meets a new man, and a woman who has spent three years planning the perfect wedding – but is missing a groom.
Painful, beautiful, and at times absurdly funny, the choir of voices may tell their own stories, but together they paint a portrait of contemporary Finnish society. With Passing Things, Rosa Liksom proves that she is a master of flash fiction who can open up an entire world within the scope of a single sentence.
Extra Materials
Czech Republic, Pistorius & Olsanská
Finland, Like
Hungary, Notan Libro Iadó
Latvia, Zvaigzne
Sweden, Wahlström & Widstrand
Author
Reviews
“Keep in mind that Rosa Liksom is already a classic. It is she who brought our literature the lightning quick short story as well as idiomatic language. For a single writer, these are quite sufficient qualifications.”
Aamulehti (FI)
“Rosa Liksom has a fantastic ability to thoroughly master disparate genres: her novels and fragmentary prose form a large chapter in the history of modern form in Finnish literature.”
Helsingin Sanomat (FI)
“Liksom is the mother of Finnish flash fiction.”
Helsingin Sanomat (FI)
“In Passing Things, she writes about people on the fringes of society, the misfits that don’t really fit in anywhere. They have had their hearts broken and their dreams chipped, and they drown their sorrows in alcohol. But Rosa Liksom depicts them with love and warmth.”
Vi Läser (SE)
“Rosa Liksom has a corse sense of humor and it’s with this talent that she brings her at times atrocious stories full circle. […] As a whole, her flash story collection of freaky stories from life depicts a twisted mirror of society. The proper flank on one side and the miserably drunken one on the other. […] Rosa Liksom has a foul mouth and is more shameless than anyone else. She is not a showman first and foremost, even if she is irresistible. It’s for real. I believe her, believe she is telling the truth. And we all need to hear it.”
Dagens Nyheter (SE)
“In a society where its easy to be forgotten and left behind, were you can loose your footing and fall off course, it’s important that our literature does justice to life on the margins; that literature is not only about people from well-to-do city centers with minor problems. Rosa Liksom gives a voice to people who are rarely heard in the public room. […] She writes about society’s hinterlands without exoticizing it.”
Svenska Dagbladet (SE)
“With stories that move from modern Helsinki to the northern part of Finland, Rosa Liksom’s new book is a radiant document of its time, with insights that don’t have an expiration date.”
Litteratur Magazine (SE)