Hyena Days

Is it possible to have a child and still remain oneself?

I had refused to believe that a life without a child would be empty; I had reassured myself that wasn’t the case, but now I’m forced to admit that maybe it is. There is a hollow in my life, it’s missing something.”

Hyena Days is a precise and straightforward story about childlessness and the contradictory nature of having a child. It depicts the hopes for a child and the unpredictability of procreation, the shame related to one’s body, and the demands placed on the female body. The novel delves into the incompatible ideas between artistry and motherhood but, above all, it depicts the physical dimension of human life. Turunen handles the subjects of her novel both in a wistful and a light manner. The short and bright sentences paint precise observations of the contradictoriness of life, of dreams and them becoming fulfilled in a different way that has been imagined. The narration flows effortlessly and takes the reader to a fascinating world full of both personal and universal questions.