Urheat Pienet Naiset by Sari Malkamäki

I got Urheat Pienet Naiset (brave little women) as Christmas present from my mother. Haven't read any Sari Malkamäki's books before, although this is her seventh book. It's a story about four women in their fourties, former classmates and their lives that briefly touch again after a surprise from the past.

It's a short read, only took me couple of hours to finish. One of those stories where plot takes the backseat, and the emphasis is on the descriptions of people and their emotions. And there is a range of emotions here, probably most of issues women come across are present: worrying about being fat, lonely, pregnant... Having affairs, having trouble conciving, having one night stands, net-dating, dealing with newborns, depressions, difficulties with the career, and all other sort of other difficulties that come from weak self-esteem.

In fact, I don't think any of the characters were happy, not happy with themselves or their relationships or lack of them. By the end of the book I felt kind of depressed about the whole thing. The book is titled "brave little women" but I wouldn't necessarily agree on that sentiment. Yes, they survive, but there's little hope of things changing. Ok, Tuula really likes the guy she meets on the net, but if she's not in peace with herself, she won't find happiness from another person. Hanna is finished with the affair, but there will be others, she won't change her spots. Outi goes from one obsession to another, changing the project baby to project PhD. Only one with a relatively decent life is Vappu, and her life doesn't change during the book. Somehow the promise of the four lives coming together doesn't deliver. There's a brief encounter, but there's no connection, no resolution, nothing to learn from or to go to.

Still, interesting book and pretty well written, easy to read.

As long as my life doesn't end being like the life of any of the heroines.