The novel appears to be set in about 2031, as it refers to the Norwegian massacre by Anders Breivik in 2011 being ‘almost twenty years ago’.
The family consists of Laura and Eerik with daughter Aava and son Aslak. To say it is a dysfunctional one is to understate the situation. Mum Laura works for an environmental organisation and specialises in climate politics whilst Dad Eerik helps to improve communities all over the world. Daughter Aava could not wait to get away from home and is now working as a doctor in Somalia, whilst Aslak is a loner who appears unable to relate to his world or his peers – an accident waiting to happen.
The book opens with a sniper on a building in Helsinki and you know that this will not have a happy ending.
Quite honestly I found this book rather depressing and had it not been for the fact that a review was required, I would have ditched it before the end.