Guest author J.P. Laitinen

J.P. Laitinen at Pispala Library: The Monster (Teos, 2025)

Wednesday, August 7 at 6 PM
Pispala Library
Free admission

Award-winning Tampere-based author J.P. Laitinen visits Pispala Library to discuss his new novel Hirviö (Teos, 2025), a powerful literary work that dives deep into the ecological crisis and existential despair.

The novel follows a struggling writer who becomes a ghostwriter for a radical activist planning acts of sabotage. Written in the form of an intense diary, The Monster parallels one man’s unraveling sense of purpose with the crumbling fate of the planet itself. Is there still hope for humanity? And is violent resistance ever justified?

Laitinen’s debut novel Lume (Teos, 2019) won two literary prizes and has drawn comparisons to Handke, Bernhard, MacEwan and Dostoevsky. In addition to being an author, Laitinen is an acclaimed environmental journalist and nonfiction writer with several awards to his name. He is also known as a singer-songwriter.

The event will take place in interview format, with time for audience questions.

The event is free and open to all.