The Core of the Sun

De: Johanna Sinisalo, Lola Rogers - translator

Narrado por: Coleen Marlo

From the author of the Finlandia Award-winning novel Troll: A Love Story, The Core of the Sun further cements Johanna Sinisalo's reputation as a master of literary speculative fiction and of her country's unique take on it, dubbed "Finnish weird". Set in an alternative historical present, in a "eusistocracy" - an extreme welfare state - that holds public health and social stability above all else, it follows a young woman whose growing addiction to illegal chili peppers leads her on an adventure into a world where love, sex, and free will are all controlled by the state.

The Eusistocratic Republic of Finland has bred a new human subspecies of receptive, submissive women, called eloi, for sex and procreation while intelligent, independent women are relegated to menial labor and sterilized so that they do not carry on their "defective" line. Vanna, raised as an eloi but secretly intelligent, needs money to help her doll-like sister, who has disappeared. Vanna forms a friendship with a man named Jare, and they become involved in buying and selling a stimulant known to the Health Authority to be extremely dangerous: chili peppers. Then Jare comes across a strange religious cult in possession of the Core of the Sun, a chili so hot that it is rumored to cause hallucinations. Does this chili have effects that justify its prohibition? How did Finland turn into the North Korea of Europe? And will Vanna succeed in her quest to find her sister, or will her growing need to satisfy her chili addiction destroy her? Johanna Sinisalo's tautly told story of fight and flight is also a feisty, between-the-lines social polemic - a witty, inventive, and fiendishly engaging listen.

©2013 Johanna Sinisalo. Translation 2016 by Lola Rogers. Originally published as Auringon ydin by Teos Publishers (Finland). Recorded by arrangement with Grove Atlantic, Inc. (P)2016 Audible, Inc.

Very Strange, but Great To Listen To!

I loved the narrator- her voice was perfection and she wasn't dead. She made the story a great listen. I laughed, cringed and pondered the odd tale, but definitely enjoyed it.

Chile, Chile, Chile

Absolutely loved the structure of the book. A lot of fun delving into the story. Predictable ending, but overall a good story. The journey was more fun than the destination!

Bizarre and beautiful

It took a bit for the story to really catch my interest (possibly because it is a translation from Finnish) but once it did I was hooked. Occasionally sweet, often sad but truly a unique dystopian experience.

Strange story

I liked the narrator’s performance.

Did not care for the story. Strange and disturbing. Themes reminded too much of nazis objectification of humans.