The Summer House, by Philip Teir

Read and discuss Scandinavian literature in translation as part of our Nordic Book Club, now online! Each month we select a novel from some of the best Nordic literary voices. Discussions have typically taken place the last Tuesday of the month at Scandinavia House but will now be taking place bi-weekly as an online meeting. Register here to sign up for the meeting; registrants will receive a web link to where the meeting will take place.

Book club participants will all appear online at the start of the meeting when they log in so that they are able to take part in the conversation. For participants who would prefer not to be visible onscreen, see an easy tutorial online here on how to set a profile image that will appear onscreen instead.

The Summer House by Philip Teir follows the family of Finnish couple Erik and Julie as they set out on holiday to a seaside house on the west coast of the country. Despite their initial happiness, issues lying just below the surface endanger their trip from the start, including Erik’s very recent job termination. With the arrival of Julia’s childhood friend Marika — along with her charismatic husband Chris, the leader of a group of extreme environmental activists — those hairline fractures increasingly threaten to split open their very family foundation. In this finely-tuned story about life choices and lies, about childhood and adulthood, Philip Teir poses the question: How do we live if we know that the world is about to end?