''Mirage 38'' ( sv, Hägring 38) is a 2013 novel by Finnish author

Kjell Westö Kjell Westö (born 6 August 1961 in Helsinki, Finland) is a Finnish author and journalist. Westö writes in Swedish. Best known for his epic novels set in Helsinki, he has also written short stories, poetry, essays and newspaper columns. Biogr ...

. It won the

Nordic Council's Literature Prize The Nordic Council Literature Prize is awarded for a work of literature written in one of the languages of the Nordic countries, that meets "high literary and artistic standards". Established in 1962, the prize is awarded every year, and is worth ...

in 2014. The novel tells about

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

in 1938.

Plot

The story takes place over eight months in 1938 in Helsinki. The main character is lawyer Claes Thune and the book is set in a Finnish-Swedish bourgeois environment. He has been left by his wife Gabi, who has gotten together with his friend Lindemark. Banan and Lindemark meet in the discussion group Wednesday Club (), which they have founded with old friends Arelius and Joachim Jary, to discuss politics and culture, but mostly to socialize and drink themselves senseless. The group gradually splits into a liberal section, to which Thune belongs, and a right-wing one. Adolf Hitler's expansionist policies arouse both anger and admiration. Joachim Jary suffers from insanity and is admitted to a mental hospital. Thune becomes involved as a foreign policy writer in the daily press and is published in '. In Thune's office, Matilda Wiik works as a newly hired secretary. She has tragic memories of the

Finnish Civil War The Finnish Civil War; . Other designations: Brethren War, Citizen War, Class War, Freedom War, Red Rebellion and Revolution, . According to 1,005 interviews done by the newspaper ''Aamulehti'', the most popular names were as follows: Civil W ...

and the abuses committed against her in prison camps. One day, when the Wednesday Club meets in Thune's office, Matilda hears her tormented voice from the prison camp. The tormentor, "the Captain," who does not realize who Matilda is, begins to court her. Only at the end of the book does the reader learn who the "Captain" really is. The book recounts the event at the opening of the

Helsinki Olympic Stadium The Helsinki Olympic Stadium ( fi, Helsingin Olympiastadion; sv, Helsingfors Olympiastadion), located in the Töölö district about from the centre of the Finnish capital Helsinki, is the largest stadium in the country, nowadays mainly used f ...

when Abraham Tokazier, who was of Jewish descent, crossed the finish line in the 100-metre race in first place. The official results only put him in fourth place, even though he had initially been declared the winner. In the book, Joachim Jary's nephew Salomon Jary is Tokazier.

References

2013 Finnish novels Swedish-language novels Nordic Council's Literature Prize-winning works Fiction set in 1938 Novels set in Helsinki Novels set in the 1930s 21st-century Finnish novels {{2010s-hist-novel-stub