Can Machines Bring Peace? (The Thinking Machine Trilogy #1)
Book
Can a machine bring peace? Or are humans built for war? 450 years after Earth was bombed back to...
Science Fiction
While Paris Slept
Book
Paris 1944 A young woman's future is torn away in a heartbeat. Herded on to a train bound for...
Historical fiction WW2 Paris California
Before Beltane: A Prequel to the Celtic Fervour Series by Nancy Jardine
Book
Two lives. Two stories. One future. AD 71 Northern Britannia At the Islet of the Priestesses,...
Historical Fiction Roman Empire Ancient World
The Becalmer
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Harica is gifted with the ability to defuse conflicts using her mind. When she is recruited to...
Young Adult Science Fiction
The Leviathan
Book
SHE IS AWAKE... Norfolk, 1643. With civil war tearing England apart, reluctant soldier Thomas...
Historical fiction Gothic Witches Mythology
The Misadventures of Margaret Finch
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Blackpool, 1938. Miss Margaret Finch - a rather demure young woman - has just begun work in a...
Historical fiction Blackpool The Mass Observation Project
Fishing With Tolstoy
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FISHING WITH TOLSTOY is a timely and heartwarming story of friendship that pokes tongue-in-cheek fun...
war fiction drama
The King’s Mother
Book
1461. Through blood and battle Edward has gained England’s throne – king by right and conquest...
Historical fiction Plantagenets British history 15th century
Decision at Thunder Rift: Book One of The Saga of the Gray Death Legion
Book
THE EPIC FIRST NOVEL OF THE LEGENDARY SCIENCE FICTION SERIES... Thirty meters tall, seventy tons...
ClareR (6157 KP) rated Lowest Common Denominator in Books
Feb 10, 2026
LCD bounces around somewhat in time from toddlerhood to the present day. It’s auto fiction, really, although I had to double check that. So I suppose it’s a mix of Saisio’s autobiography that has been fictionalised in places.
I found the details of a child growing up in Finland, Saisio’s communist parents, along with 1950’s Finnish life, fascinating. It also made me curious about the war and occupation of the Russians in Finland, and I consequently did a bit of background reading about that.
I love reading translated books, and the translator, Mia Spangenberg, has made sure that this has lost none of its humour. The relationships between the narrator and their family members are so well drawn. Their experiences, traumas, upbringings and their expectations of this small child make for an engrossing read.
