Publisher Description

The right word. That's all the difference between life and death. Memory is inseparable fromwords. Words draw things out of the shadows. Learn the words and you will recover yourmemory.One night at Trieste in September 1943 a seriously wounded soldier is found on the quay. Withnothing to identify him, and having lost his memory and language, he is a mystery to the crew ofthe German ship that rescues him. The ship's doctor, a Finn, identifies the name embroidered onthe man's jacket as Finnish. Taking him for a fellow countryman, he gradually teaches him tospeak Finnish and eventually finds him a berth in an army hospital in Helsinki, from where he maybe able to piece together his former life.But the longer he spends in Helsinki, the less he feels at home; the more he learns of the Finnishlanguage and rich history, the less familiar it seems; and by the time we learn his true identity, it'stoo late.New Finnish Grammar is an unforgettable tale of one man's search for meaning and for identityamid the devastation of WW2.

Author Biography

Diego Marani was born in Ferrara in 1959. He works as a senior linguist for the European Union in Brussels. Every week he writes a column for a Swiss newspaper about current affairs in Europanto, a language he invented. He is the author of a collection of short stories in Europanto, Las Adventures des Inspector Cabillot, and five other novels, including The Last of the Vostyachs, to be published in Australia and New Zealand in early 2013. 

Review

'A well-paced dissection of what drives a man to kill to survive, to forget to preserve a past, then lose it all just when the storm clouds are drifting away. Verdict: Unforgettable search for memory.' * Courier Mail *
'Don't be misled by the world's most unappealing title. This i a stunner...Marani's tale is deeply satisfying...This is language to be savoured, enjoyed and revisited...One of the most astonishingly beautiful books I have read.' * Sunday Star Times *
'This is an extraordinary book, as good as Michael Ondaatje's The English Patient and with a similar mystery at its heart.'  * Spectator *
'An entrancing, disturbing exploration of the limits of speech and self.'  * Independent *
'Marani has created a staggering study of loss and an act of retrieval that is heroic.' * Irish Times *
'Beautifully written and translated, and beautifully original.' * Times *
'Deep and rich, did I say? That isn't the half of it. I can't remember when I read a more extraordinary novel, or when I was last so strongly tempted to use the word "genius" of its author.'  * Guardian *
'New Finnish Grammar is truly a marvel. The interweaving of plot and language is extremely well executed and the central mystery provides an urgency that will keep you turning its relatively few pages until the end. Meanwhile, the philosophical and psychological implications of the connection between memory, language and self will leave you deep in thought for some time after turning that final page.' * Artshub *

Promotional

* Author will be a guest of Australian and New Zealand literary festivals in early 2013 * Reviewed widely in major newspapers such as Australian, Age, Sydney Morning Herald, Herald Sun, Courier Mail and Dominion Post * Reviewed widely in literary publications such as Kill Your Darlings and NZ Listener * Author will be interviewed on national radio programs such as ABC Radio National's Late Night Live * Print advertising in literary magazines such as ABR * Online advertising on sites such as Kill Your Darlings * Featured in Text Publishing's newsletters and website

Prizes

Winner of Oxford-Weidenfeld Translation Prize 2012 (UK)
Short-listed for Independent Foreign Fiction Award and Best Translated Book Award 2012 (UK)
Long-listed for European Book Prize 2012

Review Quote

'This is an extraordinary book, as good as Michael Ondaatje's The English Patient and with a similar mystery at its heart.'

Excerpt from Book

'Don't you have any hopes at all? Is there nothing that you wish for?' she managed to ask again, though she was clearly having difficulty getting the words out. 'Yes, there is: I hope to find some memory of me in someone else; I hope to find someone who can tell me about even one single day in my past life: about one summer's afternoon when I was a child, some outing, what games I played. Because surely I too must have run around a courtyard kicking a ball?'

Description for Sales People

Introducing a powerful new voice in global literature New Finnish Grammar has already garnered impressive international praise in publications such as the Times, Guardian, Independent, Spectator, New Statesman, Irish Times and many more. This tale of a wounded WWII soldier struggling to recover his memories and speech has drawn comparisons with Michael Ondaatje's multi-award-winning The English Patient Diego Marani is an internationally renowned author, translator, newspaper columnist and the creator of the Europanto language An exploration of language and identity, of Finnish folklore and history, of loneliness and human connection--it will leave you breathless Elegantly written and stylish, New Finnish Grammar is a book that will linger in your mind long after you've turned the last page Awarded the Oxford Weidenfeld Translation Prize in 2012 and shortlisted for the Independent Foreign Fiction Award and the Best Translated Book Award 'Deep and rich, did I say? That isn't the half of it. I can't remember when I read a more extraordinary novel, or when I was last so strongly tempted to use the word "genius" of its author.' Guardian Author will tour Australia and New Zealand in 2013 Text will also publish Marani's next novel The Last of the Vostyachs in early 2013

Details