Mirage 38

The Wednesday Club
	First edition (Sweden)
Author	Kjell Westö
Original title	Hägring 38
Language	Swedish
Subject	Politics
Set in	Helsinki, Finland 1938
Published	2013
Publisher	Albert Bonniers förlag (Sweden); Schildts & Söderströms (Finland)
Publication place	Finland
Awards	Nordic Council's Literature Prize of 2014, Sveriges Radio's Novel Award of 2014

The Wednesday Club (Swedish: Hägring 38) is a 2013 novel by Finnish author Kjell Westö. It won the Nordic Council's Literature Prize in 2014.^[1] The novel tells about Helsinki in 1938.

Plot

The story takes place over eight months in 1938 in Helsinki. The main character is lawyer Claes Thune and the book is set in a Finnish-Swedish bourgeois environment. He has been left by his wife Gabi, who has gotten together with his friend Lindemark. Banan and Lindemark meet in the discussion group Wednesday Club (Onsdagsklubben), which they have founded with old friends Arelius and Joachim Jary, to discuss politics and culture, but mostly to socialize and drink themselves senseless.^[2] The group gradually splits into a liberal section, to which Thune belongs, and a right-wing one. Adolf Hitler's expansionist policies arouse both anger and admiration. Joachim Jary suffers from insanity and is admitted to a mental hospital.

Thune becomes involved as a foreign policy writer in the daily press and is published in Svenska Pressen [sv]. In Thune's office, Matilda Wiik works as a newly hired secretary. She has tragic memories of the Finnish Civil War and the abuses committed against her in prison camps. One day, when the Wednesday Club meets in Thune's office, Matilda hears her tormented voice from the prison camp. The tormentor, "the Captain," who does not realize who Matilda is, begins to court her. Only at the end of the book does the reader learn who the "Captain" really is.

The book recounts the event at the opening of the Helsinki Olympic Stadium when Abraham Tokazier, who was of Jewish descent, crossed the finish line in the 100-metre race in first place. The official results only put him in fourth place, even though he had initially been declared the winner. In the book, Joachim Jary's nephew Salomon Jary is Tokazier.

References

^ "Literature Prize winner 1962–2015". Nordic Co-operation. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
^ "Imponerande prestation belyser Finlands svåra historia". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). 24 August 2013. ISSN 1101-2412. Retrieved 2 January 2022.

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[1] "Literature Prize winner 1962–2015". Nordic Co-operation. Retrieved 17 December 2014.

[2] "Imponerande prestation belyser Finlands svåra historia". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). 24 August 2013. ISSN 1101-2412. Retrieved 2 January 2022.

[1]

[2]

v t e Nordic Council Literature Prize winners
1960s	1962: The Days of His Grace – Eyvind Johnson 1963: Under the North Star 3: Reconciliation – Väinö Linna 1964: The Ice Palace – Tarjei Vesaas 1965: From Hell to Paradise – Olof Lagercrantz and The Good Hope – William Heinesen 1966: Diwan on the Prince of Emgion – Gunnar Ekelöf 1967: Nye noveller – Johan Borgen 1968: Flight of the Eagle – Per Olof Sundman 1969: The Legionnaires – Per Olov Enquist
1970s	1970: Anna, I, Anna – Klaus Rifbjerg 1971: Coast of Slaves, Ships of Slaves & Islands of Slaves – Thorkild Hansen 1972: Sju ord på tunnelbanan – Karl Vennberg 1973: Kersantin poika – Veijo Meri 1974: Uden mål – og med – Villy Sørensen 1975: Siinä näkijä missä tekijä – Hannu Salama 1976: Að laufferjum & Að brunnum – Ólafur Jóhann Sigurðsson 1977: I de mörka rummen, i de ljusa – Bo Carpelan 1978: Dalen Portland – Kjartan Fløgstad 1979: Pubertet – Ivar Lo-Johansson
1980s	1980: Vredens barn – Sara Lidman 1981: Hauströkkrið yfir mér – Snorri Hjartarson 1982: Samuels bok – Sven Delblanc 1983: Om fjorten dage – Peter Seeberg 1984: The Christmas Oratorio – Göran Tunström 1985: A Day in Ostrobothnia – Antti Tuuri 1986: Líkasum – Rói Patursson 1987: Hudløs himmel – Herbjørg Wassmo 1988: Justice Undone – Thor Vilhjálmsson 1989: Roman 1987 – Dag Solstad
1990s	1990: For the Living and the Dead – Tomas Tranströmer 1991: The Sun, My Father – Nils-Aslak Valkeapää 1992: Night Watch – Fríða Á. Sigurðardóttir 1993: Byen og verden – Peer Hultberg 1994: Blackwater – Kerstin Ekman 1995: Angels of the Universe – Einar Már Guðmundsson 1996: Hva skal vi gjøre i dag og andre noveller – Øystein Lønn 1997: Bang. En roman om Herman Bang – Dorrit Willumsen 1998: After Having Spent a Night Among Horses – Tua Forsström 1999: Queen's Gate – Pia Tafdrup
2000s	2000: Drømmebroer – Henrik Nordbrandt 2001: The Discoverer – Jan Kjærstad 2002: The Half Brother – Lars Saabye Christensen 2003: Revbensstäderna – Eva Ström 2004: Juoksuhaudantie – Kari Hotakainen 2005: The Blue Fox – Sjón 2006: The Ocean – Göran Sonnevi 2007: Drömfakulteten – Sara Stridsberg 2008: Baboon – Naja Marie Aidt 2009: I Curse the River of Time – Per Petterson
2010s	2010: Purge – Sofi Oksanen 2011: Between the Trees – Gyrðir Elíasson 2012: Days in the History of Silence – Merethe Lindstrøm 2013: The Prophets of Eternal Fjord – Kim Leine 2014: Mirage 38 – Kjell Westö 2015: Wakefulness, Olav's Dreams & Weariness – Jon Fosse 2016: Songs and Formulae – Katarina Frostenson 2017: Memories of Love – Kirsten Thorup 2018: Hotel Silence – Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir 2019: Efter Solen – Jonas Eika
2020s	2020: Who killed Bambi? – Monika Fagerholm 2021: Flower Valley – Niviaq Korneliussen 2022: Om udregning af rumfang – Solvej Balle 2023: Ihågkom oss till liv – Joanna Rubin Dranger
List of Nordic Council's Literature Prize winners and nominees