The praises of the debut “Folk som sår i snø” never wanted to end. Bonnier’s book clubs named it “Book of the Year”. Adlibris named it “Debut of the Year”. The book has been translated and sold to 20 countries – and for a long time it has been high on the sales lists in Sweden.
– It feels unreal. It feels a bit like you almost got more than you asked for, said Tina Harnesk to SVT Sápmi at the time.
“Not as angry”
Now, two years later, Tina Harnesk is back with her second book “Mödramärg”. This time she writes about the fate of her own Lule Sami family – albeit woven into a fictional story about a mine that threatens the area.
The parallels to today’s debate around the mining plans in Gállok cannot be escaped. And it is deliberately political, according to the author..
– I wasn’t nearly as angry when I wrote “Folk som sår i snø” as I was when I read and did research, and when I wrote this. It has been difficult, while it is somewhat natural for me to be humorous about the difficult, she says.
Based on protocol
The book follows two women’s destinies in two ages. It gives insight into a past and weaves the same with a parallel story in the present. Both motherhood and the exploitation of Sápmi are in focus.
Among other things, she depicts atrocities that took place in the 17th century in the Jokkmokks mountains.
– In the previous episodes, I have based myself on protocols and books that I have found. I have tried to stay very close to the truth. At 95 percent it’s only the main character I’ve modded together and then but the past chapter is really close to what it looks like.
See the interview with Tina Harnesk in the clip above.