A beautiful and passionate story carries the reader from the days of the witch trials to present-day Berlin.
Maria, born in the age of witch trials, has been fascinated by insects since childhood. She begins to draw the metamorphic life cycles of them, as did her historical model, the German naturalist Maria Sibylla Merian (1647–1717).
With the passage of time from one age to another the world changes, and religion finds a competitor in science. The novel shows a woman breaking out of her narrow role, gaining a voice and authorship, together with the right to ponder the mystery of the origin of life. Just as insects undergo a transformation, so over time Maria changes, going on to live for 370 years.
The Woman Who Loved Insects has much to say about the relation between humans and nature. Above all, however, it is the story of a woman following her own path and her own passions, despite the obstacles set in her way by the era.
“The Woman Who Loved Insects" is like a Japanese woodcut – gentle, exotic and slowly unfolding. It is enigmatic, and as such very, very fascinating.” – Helsingin Sanomat newspaper
This project has been funded with support from the Creative Europe Programme of the European Commission.
Selja Ahava graduated with a degree in scriptwriting from the Theatre Academy of Helsinki in 2001. She has written film scripts, a TV series and a radio play. She has also written works that combine text, space and performance. Selja received a grant from the Laila Hirvisaari Foundation for her debut novel, The Day the Whale Swam Through London (orig. Eksyneen muistikirja). The purpose of this annual award is to support accomplished Finnish authors who are still at the start of their careers to write high quality, poignant books. Her second novel Things That Fall from the Sky (original title: Taivaalta tippuvat asiat) received the European Union Prize for Literature and was nominated for the prestigious Finlandia literary prize.
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