Iida Turpeinen

Iida Turpeinen was born in Finland in 1987. As a literary scholar and writer, she is interested in the literary potential of scientific research as well as quirky anecdotes and aberrations in the history of science. In 2014, she won first place in the J. H. Erkko Young Writers’ Competition with a short story.

Her debut novel »Elolliset« (2023; Eng. »Beasts of the Sea«) became a bestseller in Finland as soon as it was published. It covers a large arc: In 1741, the doctor and naturalist Georg Wilhelm Steller joins the Great Northern Expedition. Under the leadership of Captain Vitus Bering, the crew attempts to explore the sea route from Asia to America. In the process, they make a unique discovery: the Steller’s sea cow – a strange sea creature that was to be wiped out almost thirty years later. In 1859, Hampus Furuhjelm, a Russian governor of Finnish descent, sent his men to search for the skeleton of this giant marine mammal in what was then Russian America and is now Alaska. In 1952, John Grönvall, a restorer at the Finnish Museum of Natural History, was finally commissioned to restore the skeleton of the Steller’s sea cow.

The »Helsingin Sanomat« daily newspaper wrote that »Turpeinen’s debut novel, ›Beasts of the Sea‹, which focuses on a single sea cow and individuals linked to it over a span of three centuries, makes the ecological ruptures and freefall of the entire world a palpable experience.« The novel was awarded the Helsingin Sanomat literary prize for best debut and was nominated for Finland’s biggest literary prize, the Finlandia Prize. The translation rights have been sold to 25 countries so far.

Iida Turpeinen lives in Helsinki.

Status: April 2024

Das Wesen des Lebens
S. Fischer
Frankfurt am Main, 2024
(Ü: Maximilian Murmann)