Annastiina Storm's Ten and One Maddasia is an allegorical adult fairy tale about the desire for power and dictatorship. Cheerfully rejecting normative logic, the work is full of imaginative elements and bizarre details.
In the world of the book, the empire is ruled by ten outwardly identical dictators, each named Maddas. This makes it more difficult for the people to revolt, because instead of defeating one autocrat, they should defeat ten equal tyrants.
The story begins with only three of the Maddas alive. Others have died from sniper bullets, a virus and poisoned tea, among other things.
The narrator justifies the choice of time by the fact that in dictator stories the nearness of the end is a comforting place. And for the last Maddas, it's the real end of the world.
When the people revolt and the servants, bodyguards and henchmen disappear, the Maddas trio flee to a small underground bunker. There they meet strange characters, each of whom tells them one animal fairy tale.
There is a comical fabel of a king digging his own grave, always doing as instructed by the louse that lives behind his earlobe. There is a tragic fable about a young pigeon girl who falls fervently in love with the king of foxes.
There is a pitiful account of a useless ant who believes he controls the entire universe.
All these narratives within the narrative are also connected to Maddasie's story. Thematically, they reflect those in power's increasingly paranoid fears about the sustainability of their position and their fantasies of their own omnipotence.
A dictator's time is always limited, and in the end there is only one last breath ahead.
On the sidelines of the main plot, there is also time to recapitulate the stories of Maddas who have already died and unravel the special character traits of each autocrat.
The fairy-tale novel is tinged with black, mischievous humor and ridicule of dictatorships. In the lice story, the louse assures the king that banning head scratching is a good way to test the loyalty of citizens.
"By betraying the head-scratchers, you are helping our people to be cleansed of those vile people!" the messengers declare.
A dictator's time is always limited.
And there are always opportunists who, for reward or old grudges, are willing to report their fellow travelers.
The novel contains numerous scenes and ingredients that evoke positive amazement and wonder. Already on the third page of the book, a young man who shot himself in the thigh dives into a bullet hole and ends up being a great leader for decades.
"You wouldn't have thought of him at first sight, but it just happened," says the narrator.
Snowballs also play a key role, which all Maddas carry with them. They are the key to the world and how to shape it.
Full of satire, metaphors and absurd components, Ten and One Maddasia is reminiscent of the novel The Tree, written by Alexandra Salmela and illustrated by Martina Matlovičová, which was published a year ago. Compared to its predecessor, however, Stormi's work is smaller-scale and more restrained.