In the waning years of the Soviet Union, a sad young Finnish woman boards a train in Moscow. Bound for Mongolia, she’s trying to put as much space as possible between her and a broken relationship. Wanting to be alone, she chooses an empty compartment—No. 6.—but her solitude is soon shattered by the arrival of a fellow passenger: Vadim Nikolayevich Ivanov, a grizzled, opinionated, foul-mouthed former soldier. Vadim fills the compartment with his long and colorful stories, recounting in lurid detail his sexual conquests and violent fights. There is a hint of menace in the air, but initially the woman is not so much scared of or shocked by him as she is repulsed. She stands up to him, throwing a boot at his head. But though Vadim may be crude, he isn’t cruel, and he shares with her the sausage and black bread and tea he’s brought for the journey, coaxing the girl out of her silent gloom. As their train cuts slowly across thousands of miles of a wintry Russia, where “everything is in motion, snow, water, air, trees, clouds, wind, cities, villages, people and thoughts,” a grudging kind of companionship grows between the two inhabitants of compartment No. 6. When they finally arrive in Ulan Bator, a series of starlit and sinister encounters bring Rosa Liksom’s incantatory Compartment No. 6 to its powerful conclusion. Wonderful, almost elegiac. Rosa Liksom is a Finnish artist and the author of over a dozen books. She won the Finlandia prize in 2011 for Compartment No. 6

The best fiction from across the Nordic region, selected and introduced by Sjon—Iceland’s internationally renowned writer. This exquisite anthology collects together the very best fiction from across the Nordic region. Travelling from cosmopolitan Stockholm to the remote Faroe Islands, and from Denmark to Greenland, this unique and compelling volume displays the thrilling diversity of writing from these northern nations. Selected and introduced by Sjon, The Dark Blue Winter Overcoat includes both notable authors and exciting new discoveries. As well as an essential selection of the best contemporary storytelling from the Nordic countries, it’s also a fascinating portrait of contemporary life across the region. The perfect book to curl up with on a cold winter’s evening

УДК 821.511.111 ББК 84(4Фин) Л56 Издательство благодарит за поддержку в издании этой книги F1L1 — Finnish Literature Exchange Ликсом Р. Купе № 6. Представления о Советском Союзе: Роман / Роза Ликсом; пер. с фин. А. Сидоровой. — Москва: Текст, 2015. — 190 [2] с. — (Первый ряд). ISBN 978-5-7516-1288-7 Роза Ликсом (р. 1958), известный финский прозаик и драматург, за роман «Купе № 6» удостоена самой престижной на ее родине литературной премии «Финляндия». Роман связан с воспоминаниями писательницы, которая тридцать лет назад училась в Москве и много путешествовала по стране. Повествование передает впечатления молодой финской студентки о поездке по Транссибирской магистрали, в которых перемешаны страх, удивление и симпатия. Молодая девушка и средних лет русский мужчина, за плечами которого большой жизненный опыт, в том числе и криминальный, едут в одном купе, и по ходу путешествия между ними возникают непростые отношения. Но главный интерес для русского читателя могут вызвать фантастические представления героини — и в значительной степени автора — о жизни в Советском Союзе в 80-х годах прошлого века, об истории и географии нашей страны. © Rosa Liksom 2011 Published by agreement with Hedlung Agency © «Текст», издание на русском языке, 2015