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Emmi Itäranta

Author of Memory of Water

5+ Works 931 Members 67 Reviews

About the Author

Emmi Elina Itäranta was born in 1976 in Finland. Itäranta holds a MA in Drama from the University of Tampere, and worked as a columnist, theatre critic, script writer and press officer after graduation. In 2007 she enrolled in the postgraduate program of University of Kent, where she began show more writing her debut novel as a part of her Creative Writing course work. Working simultaneously in English and her native Finnish, Itäranta completed both manuscripts, and in 2011 the Finnish version won the Fantasy and Sci-Fi Literary Fiction contest organised by the Finnish publishing house Teos.The novel was published by Teos in 2012 under the name Teemestarin kirja. The book won the Kalevi Jäntti Award in 2012, and the Nuori Aleksis Award in 2013. It was also shortlisted for the 2013 Tähtivaeltaja Award. The English version of the book, Memory of Water, was published by HarperCollins in 2014 in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia. It has been nominated for the 2014 Philip K. Dick Award, as well as the Golden Tentacle Award. It was also nominated for the Arthur C Clarke Award for science fiction in 2015. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: Heini Lehväslaiho

Works by Emmi Itäranta

Memory of Water (2012) — Author; Translator, some editions — 602 copies
The Weaver (2015) 207 copies
The Moonday Letters (2020) 107 copies

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Reviews

This was a strange and atmospheric book. It is set in an indefinite future when water is scarce and all sources are controlled. The described culture has a special place for its tea masters and the main character grows up to become one. But, with that knowledge come also the burden of secrets.

I loved the beautiful language and character-building, but world-building was vague and felt incomplete.

 
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ZeljanaMaricFerli | 45 other reviews | Mar 4, 2024 |
This story has a very whimsical writing style that reminded me a lot of The Night Circus. I was actually reading both at the same time for a it but ended up putting this one down until I finished Night Circus because I also wanted more different. This follows Lumi as she searches and wonders about her lost partner in a future where Earth is lo longer inhabitable and humanity is spread between the planets (and those from Earth are looked down on because of what humanity did to the plant although scientists are trying to figure out how to ix it).

Firstly, can I just say that I loved that we have a non-binary biologist? I do wish we had been able to see more of them and not just Lumi's memories of them. This would also have added more action and excitement (beyond the wondering) to the story. The universe was a fascinating one (I loved the bop dye for example and could definitely see it being a thing one day!) and I would have loved to have seen more of it.

The less good: It was a little repetitive at times because a lot of it was Lumi longing for Sol and the Moonday House. Although it wasn't that common, I did also sometimes get a little annoyed when it switched to second person. While I get that this was meant to convey Lumi's longing for Sol, it just didn't really do it for me. But it was still a beautifully written book and I'd definitely recommend it to those who are looking for some whimsy in their reading!
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TheAceOfPages | 5 other reviews | Dec 31, 2023 |
Beautiful, poetic and sad, but with an undertone of hope. I enjoyed this book very much.
 
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weaver-of-dreams | 45 other reviews | Aug 1, 2023 |
This book follows a series of fictional journal entries using incredibly flowery language, which really fits the vibes of the book. It discusses both environmentalism, spirituality, and gender, and I found it as a whole a beautiful and interesting book. It was just the right length too to give the characters the appropriate development.
 
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Griffin_Reads | 5 other reviews | Jul 22, 2023 |

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Works
5
Also by
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Popularity
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Rating
½ 3.7
Reviews
67
ISBNs
56
Languages
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