‘Marani is a noted linguist, and his novel will be appreciated best by those with a keen interest in the philosophy of speech. It will also appeal to general lovers of language, who, by the story’s end, will better understand Finnish, which can be heard “in nature, in the woods, in the pull of the sea, in the call of the wild, in the sound of the falling snow”.’

‘A well-paced dissection of what drives a man to kill to survive, to forget to preserve a past, then lose it all just when the storm clouds are drifting away. Verdict: Unforgettable search for memory.’

‘Don’t be misled by the world’s most unappealing title. This i a stunner…Marani’s tale is deeply satisfying…This is language to be savoured, enjoyed and revisited…One of the most astonishingly beautiful books I have read.’

‘This is an extraordinary book, as good as Michael Ondaatje’s The English Patient and with a similar mystery at its heart.' 

‘An entrancing, disturbing exploration of the limits of speech and self.' 

‘Marani has created a staggering study of loss and an act of retrieval that is heroic.’

‘Beautifully written and translated, and beautifully original.’

‘Deep and rich, did I say? That isn’t the half of it. I can’t remember when I read a more extraordinary novel, or when I was last so strongly tempted to use the word “genius” of its author.' 

‘This is a desperately sad book. It takes its place beside Romantic stories of Kaspar Hauser and Wolf Boy of Aveyron, which have haunted the European imagination for two centuries…Judith Landry is to be congratulated on her seamless translation from the Italian.’

‘New Finnish Grammar is truly a marvel. The interweaving of plot and language is extremely well executed and the central mystery provides an urgency that will keep you turning its relatively few pages until the end. Meanwhile, the philosophical and psychological implications of the connection between memory, language and self will leave you deep in thought for some time after turning that final page.’