Become a Readings Member to make your shopping experience even easier. Sign in or sign up for free!

Become a Readings Member. Sign in or sign up for free!

Hello Readings Member! Go to the member centre to view your orders, change your details, or view your lists, or sign out.

Hello Readings Member! Go to the member centre or sign out.

Lowest Common Denominator
Paperback

Lowest Common Denominator

$26.99
Sign in or become a Readings Member to add this title to your wishlist.

A riveting, funny coming-of-age story- the first volume in Pirkko Saisio's award-winning Helsinki trilogy

'Grandpa says everyone should leave me alone. If I want to be a boy, then I'm a boy- simple as that.'

Writing in the wake of her father's death, the narrator of Pirkko Saisio's autofictional novel transports us to the 1950s Finland of her youth, where she navigates life as an only child of communist parents. Convinced she will grow up to become a man, a young Pirkko keeps trying and failing to meet the expectations of the adults around her.

With wit and style, Saisio captures the heart-wrenching intensity of childhood feeling, merging fever dreams with sensory-laden memories as each formative experience - with the Big Bad Wolf, a bikini-clad circus announcer, and Jesus Christ himself - drives her further and further from her family and others. Struggling to understand her place in the world around her, it's in language that she discovers a refuge and a way to be seen at last.

An unforgettable story of transformation, Lowest Common Denominator is the first volume in a trilogy that has been celebrated in Finland as the best work of the century.

Read More
In Shop
Out of stock
Shipping & Delivery

$9.00 standard shipping within Australia
FREE standard shipping within Australia for orders over $100.00
Express & International shipping calculated at checkout

MORE INFO
Format
Paperback
Publisher
Penguin Books Ltd
Country
United Kingdom
Date
11 November 2025
Pages
288
ISBN
9780241730096

A riveting, funny coming-of-age story- the first volume in Pirkko Saisio's award-winning Helsinki trilogy

'Grandpa says everyone should leave me alone. If I want to be a boy, then I'm a boy- simple as that.'

Writing in the wake of her father's death, the narrator of Pirkko Saisio's autofictional novel transports us to the 1950s Finland of her youth, where she navigates life as an only child of communist parents. Convinced she will grow up to become a man, a young Pirkko keeps trying and failing to meet the expectations of the adults around her.

With wit and style, Saisio captures the heart-wrenching intensity of childhood feeling, merging fever dreams with sensory-laden memories as each formative experience - with the Big Bad Wolf, a bikini-clad circus announcer, and Jesus Christ himself - drives her further and further from her family and others. Struggling to understand her place in the world around her, it's in language that she discovers a refuge and a way to be seen at last.

An unforgettable story of transformation, Lowest Common Denominator is the first volume in a trilogy that has been celebrated in Finland as the best work of the century.

Read More
Format
Paperback
Publisher
Penguin Books Ltd
Country
United Kingdom
Date
11 November 2025
Pages
288
ISBN
9780241730096