Miika Nousiainen

An entertaining, but peculiar satire about a slightly sociopathic Finnish man who is convinced that he is a "national-transvestite," i.e. he's a Swedish man trapped in a Finnish man's body. The story is about his transitioning, not even stopping at murder to become a real Swede. It's a humorous look at the ideal Swedish society and the preconceived notions that both Swedes and Finns have about each other. At times it's really funny and poignant, but it wavers too much between being too show more exaggerated and becoming a slapstick comedy for it to be completely successful. show less

Mikko has never felt Finnish. All his life he’s been looking westward, to the shimmering paradise that is Sweden. He’s longing to live in that country of well-behaved, empathic children, thorough business meeting procedures, stress counseling and equality in love life. He loves ABBA, Olof Palme, Astrid Lindgren and Swedish dialects. He is a “nationality transvestite”, a Swedish man trapped inside a Finnish man’s body. And when the opportunity arises for Mikko to become Mikael, a show more genuine middle-class Swede from Majorna in Gothenburg, he jumps at it. But as the many lies Mikko needs to maintain to live his dream become more and more difficult to juggle, things soon get out of hand. He even needs to murder to keep his spot in the land of Carl Gustaf and Silvia, and disaster is catching up with him fast.

Pretty drastic and at times very overstated in it’s satire over Finland and Sweden, those strange neighbors, this is still a ride both gentle and wild. I snort with laughter when Nousiainen describes the six hour meeting to determine how to pay for the office coffee (money in a jar or a deduction from the paycheck?), and the fuzzy feeling Mikko gets when the management declares they have reserved the next day for therapy for anyone who needs to process the decision. But the fun poking also holds genuine warmth towards Swedish ways, even when the plot is running amok.

There are times when Nousiainen isn’t quite managing the balance between his tone and his story, and the whole thing becomes too unlikely. And the final turn of events is a little too obvious. But this book definitely pinpoints a little something about this strange country I live in, and is a fun read besides. show less

Nousiaisen kolmatta romaania on kiitelty arvosteluissa. Itselleni lukukokemus oli pettymys. Vaikka Pasin ja Jannen viljelemät kärjistykset ja kiteytykset ovat paikoin herkullisia, kokonaisuutena huumori ei kuitenkaan sytytä, sillä henkilöhahmot ovat liian yksioikoisia ja tilanteet asetelmallisia. Eivät suomalaisen yhteiskunnan luokkaerot ole niin vaikeasti havaittavia, että niiden käsittely huumorin keinoin vaatisi näin ankaraa karrikointia ja sormella osoittelua. Hienovaraisempi show more ote olisi lisännyt kerronnan hauskuutta. Pasin henkilöhahmo jää epäuskottavaksi, varsinkin avioliitto helsinkiläisen hienostotytön kanssa. Vai ilmeneekö rivien välistä sittenkin melkoisesti aggressiota kultalusikka suussa syntynyttä vaimoa kohtaan? show less

Miika Nousiaisen kirjoittama Maaninkavaara ilmestyi 2009. Isä Martti, joka työskentelee koulun talonmiehenä, valmentaa pojastaan Jaakosta kestävyysjuoksijaa. Poika katoaa ruotsinlaivalla ja tytär Heidistä tulee uusi valmennettava. Tarina tuo esille yksilöiden erilaisuuden ja luotaa isän ja tyttären elämään ja juoksuun suhtautumista. Tytär tavallaan helpottaa isän surua suostumalla valmennettavksi. Nousiainen kirjoittaa hersyvää, humoristista tekstiä, jossa on myös show more itseironisia piirteitä. show less