(Helsinki) Finnish author Miki Liukkonen, considered one of Finland’s brightest literary stars, has died at the age of 33, his publishing house WSOY announced on Wednesday.
The cause of death was not disclosed by the publisher, who, when contacted by AFP, declined to give details, citing respect for the privacy of the writer’s family.
Despite his young age, Mr. Liukkonen had already published three books of poetry, four novels and a graphic novel.
His works have been critically acclaimed and crowned with several awards.
Released in 2017, his novel O, which has nearly 1000 pages and a hundred characters, was in the running that year for the Finlandia Prize, the most prestigious literary prize in the Nordic country.
Translated into French in 2021, O was described by the French daily Le Monde as “a learned labyrinth, a magnetic monster-book”.
Liukkonen’s writings combine “the winds of international experimental literature with a virtuoso mastery of the Finnish language,” the publisher wrote in its statement, adding that his works were laced with “sumptuous metaphors and obsessive people trying to cheat their way a path, alive, through life”.
Beyond writing, the young man was the guitarist of the alternative rock group The Scenes, and presented a television show where he met people whose life choices interested him, and whom he wanted to better understand.
Miki Liukkonen was also openly discussing her mental health issues. At the end of May, he explained in an Instagram post about the difficulties he had recently encountered: “All I can do is lie on the ground and exhale this bad feeling, before seeing it come back in an instant. “.
Her fifth novel Vierastila will be published posthumously in the fall, WSOY reported.
On Twitter, Finnish Culture Minister Sari Multala lamented “extremely sad news”.
“My condolences to the family and friends of author Miki Liukkonen,” she wrote.
