
A mosaic of short tales unfolds, each capturing a fragment of life on the margins of conflict. Voices from fields, factories, and refugee routes whisper about hunger, hope, and the quiet courage that sustains ordinary people when the world is upended. Through the eyes of children and the weary, the collection asks what it means to flee, to belong, and to search for a sense of home amid relentless upheaval.
At its heart is the story of a bright‑eyed girl who, despite the foreign clatter of machines and strangers, devotes herself to the children she cares for. Her laughter masks a hollow ache, a feeling of being half‑lost, while a shy, dream‑filled boy watches from the shadows, yearning for the colour her joy brings. Their tentative connection offers a fleeting glimpse of tenderness in a landscape dominated by labor and survival, reminding listeners that even in the darkest times, moments of humanity can still bloom.
Language
fi
Duration
~1 hours (112K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Original publisher
Porvoo: WSOY, 1914.
Credits
Juhani Kärkkäinen and Tapio Riikonen
Release date
2023-11-27
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1875–1924
A Finnish writer and social reformer, she brought together fiction, journalism, and activism in work shaped by the temperance and women’s movements. Writing under the name Marja Salmela, she is remembered as part of the lively public debates of early 20th-century Finland.
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