Rosa Liksom's locales

       At Eurozine they have an English version of Rosa Liksom's Wespennest piece, Finland, Lapland, Russia and me.
       She explains, for example, that:

Our native language is called Meänkieli -- the name literally means "our language". Also known as Tornedal Finnish, it is spoken on both sides of the border between Finland and Sweden. It has a conciliatory nature: even within the language itself, conflicts are avoided and concord is always sought. It arose via early Finnish settlement to serve as a lingua franca between Finns and Sámi people.

       Interesting that she turned East rather than West (though proximity certainly helped), as (in the early 1970s):

I was fifteen years old when I boarded the tourist coach to Murmansk, ready to encounter proper city folk and an urban lifestyle I only had a vague idea of, having grown up in a tiny village.

       Several of her works have been translated into English, most recently (in the UK) Compartment No 6; see the Serpent's Tail publicity page or get your copy at Amazon.co.uk.