Secret Passages in a Hillside Town by Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen, Translated by Lola Rogers. Courtesy Pushkin Press
Secret Passages in a Hillside Town by Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen, Translated by Lola Rogers. Courtesy Pushkin Press

Book review: Secret Passages in a Hillside Town is a magical and inventive tale from Finland



Finnish writer Pasi Ilmari Jaaskelainen's novel Secret Passages in a Hillside Town is a fanciful mystery that takes more twists and turns than the secret passages – holes in the ground that exude equal parts "indefinable menace" and intoxicating attraction – that are burrowed deep into the ground beneath Jyvaskyla, the city in central Finland where the story is set.

Olli Suominen is a publisher. He lives a comfortable if unexceptional life with his wife Aino and their small son Lauri. He has a habit of losing umbrellas, and recently joined a film club. Joining the club was something of an accident – via the confusion of an invite on Facebook shortly after he signed up to the latter believing it would be useful for his business – but he is soon hooked, enchanted by classics such as La Dolce Vita and Jules et Jim. Little does he know that his life is about to take on its own filmic sheen.

Facebook plays an important part in the story that unfolds. Olli quickly amasses a few hundred friends, accepting requests from people whose names ring a bell, even if he can’t quite remember the circumstances of their real-world interactions.

One of whom is Greta Kara, his old girlfriend, not that he recognises her as his "first great love" straight away; it is only later that he puts two and two together, and by this point he has also realised that she is the author of a recent bestselling book, A Guide to the Cinematic Life: "A cinematic life can't take away pain, but it can make it more aesthetic, make of it a kind of wine of emotion, a music of feeling."

Knowing what it would do for his publishing house if they could sign Greta's next book, Olli put outs feelers, and rather amazingly, she seems keen. To continue to describe the plot from this point would be a waste, because if there is one thing this shape-shifting novel does magnificently, it is completely subverting the reader's expectations.

Although it won the Kuvastaja Prize for best Finnish fantasy novel, to define it as such doesn’t really do justice to the full weirdness of what is going on. It deals in fantasy in as much as there are strange, unreal encounters or moments – the unexplained amnesia that afflicts Olli and his friends when they explored the secret passages as children, for example: “None of them remembered anything that they could talk about in the light of day. Whenever they thought of something, they couldn’t find words to express it” – but it isn’t a fantasy novel in the sense of strict alternative realities.

Flashbacks to Olli’s childhood and his adventures with a group of children he befriended during the holidays increasingly take centre stage. The group, known as “the Famous Five of Tourula” (a reference to the Enid Blyton books), foil local crooks and solve mysteries. Thus, with its emphasis on the lure of the past, and with this the power of cinema, it is more a story about the forgiving nature of memory – “[Greta] knows how to choose her words skillfully.

Her talk brings the past closer, close enough to touch the present, like the hand of a beloved. The years that have grown between them gradually fade until they lose their meaning completely” – and the possibility of reinvention. “I started to see my life as an adventure and myself as its tragic but glorious heroine,” Greta explains to Olli at one point, “who would eventually triumph over her hard fate if she only learnt to live fearlessly.”

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Long ago, Olli (and Greta) were grossly wronged – and worse – by the other members of his childhood gang. Only now are these bullies attempting to make amends: by conducting a "cinematic project" of "atonement" with Greta and Olli as the romantic leads in a "beautiful love story". But as one of the self-appointed directors of this endeavour points out, although on first glance it looks like a romantic comedy, the project is shot through with "hints of black". So too Jaaskelainen's novel shifts between light and dark, comedy and horror, all with shocking and unexpected ease.

I continually found myself thinking I was reading one type of book, only for the narrative to veer off in a different direction entirely. Yet all the while it somehow makes sense. As when Olli explains the "disorder" his life spirals into: "The whole thing was bizarre and confusing but at the same time somehow simple." The only elements I think could have been cut were the descriptions of the "confused, surreal dreams" that plague Olli – all of which begin to fade into one after a while – especially since, at more than 400 pages, the novel isn't short to begin with.

All the same, having created a narrative with such always-shifting perimeters allows Jaaskelainen to get away with much in this delightful, magical, inventive – if meandering – story about lost love and second chances.

How has net migration to UK changed?

The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.

It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.

The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.

The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.

The National's picks

4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FINAL RECKONING

Director: Christopher McQuarrie

Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg

Rating: 4/5

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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Dust and sand storms compared

Sand storm

  • Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
  • Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
  • Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
  • Travel distance: Limited 
  • Source: Open desert areas with strong winds

Dust storm

  • Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
  • Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
  • Duration: Can linger for days
  • Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
  • Source: Can be carried from distant regions
Francesco Totti's bio

Born September 27, 1976

Position Attacking midifelder

Clubs played for (1) - Roma

Total seasons 24

First season 1992/93

Last season 2016/17

Appearances 786

Goals 307

Titles (5) - Serie A 1; Italian Cup 2; Italian Supercup 2

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
Based: Tunisia 
 
Sector: Water technology 
 
Number of staff: 22 
 
Investment raised: $4 million 
How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

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UK
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The scheme is designed for foreign investors committed to making a significant contribution to the economy. Requires a minimum investment of €250,000 which can rise to €2 million.

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Residence Programme offers residence to applicants and their families through economic contributions. The applicant must agree to pay an annual lump sum in tax.

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Start-Up Visa Programme allows foreign entrepreneurs the opportunity to create a business in Canada and apply for permanent residence. 

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