Amatka

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Amatka
Original swedish book cover for Amatka by Karin Tidbeck.jpeg
Author Karin Tidbeck
TranslatorKarin Tidbeck
Cover artistLisa Sjöblom
LanguageSwedish
Genre
Publisher Mix förlag  ( sv ), Vintage Books (English)
Publication date
2012
Publication placeSweden
Published in English
2017
Pages223
ISBN 978-9186845346
839.738
LC Class PT9877.3.I45 A6313
Website https://www.karintidbeck.com/amatka

Amatka is a 2012 novel by Karin Tidbeck, originally written in Swedish, and published in English in 2017. Set in a world shaped by language, it follows Vanja who is sent to the Amatka colony on a work assignment where she falls in love with her housemate. Central themes of the novel include political oppression, limited freedom and deep conspiracies. [1]

Contents

Summary

Coming from the colony of Essre, Vanja (formally known as Brilars' Vanja Essre Two) is sent by a government body to Amatka in order to find out what hygiene products the people there use. She goes on to live in a house with three others, namely Nina (Ulltors' Nina Four), Ivar (Jondis' Ivar), and Ulla (Sarols' Ulla Three), all of whom have at present or at some time contributed to the workings of Amatka.

Despite her misgivings about Vanja's mission, Nina introduces the Essre resident to the departments in the colony so she could gather more information for her research. As the days progress, however, Vanja meets specialists from different fields and is eventually led to discover that Amatka — along with the other colonies — may not be as it appears.

Translations

In addition to the original Swedish edition, published by Mix in 2012, the novel has been translated into multiple languages:

Awards

Amatka was regarded as one of the best science fiction books of 2017 by The Guardian . [5] It was nominated for the following awards:

References

  1. Tidbeck, Karin (27 June 2017). Amatka. NYC, US: Vintage. p. 224. ISBN   9781101973950.
  2. Tidbeck, Karin. Amatka (in Spanish). Translated by Womack, Marian. Madrid: Ediciones Nevsky  ( es ). ISBN   978-84-944555-7-5.
  3. (2017). Amatka. Translated by Tidbeck, Karin (1st English ed.). New York: Vintage. ISBN   978-1-101-97395-0. LCCN   2016043285. OCLC   961155461.
  4. (2017). Amatka (in Hungarian). Translated by Babits, Péter. Budapest: Athenaeum  ( hu ). ISBN   978-963-293700-7.
  5. Roberts, Adam (30 November 2017). "The best science fiction and fantasy of 2017". The Guardian . Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  6. "2018 Locus Awards Winners". Locus . 2018-06-23. Archived from the original on 2025-10-16. Retrieved 2025-12-14.
  7. "Compton Award Finalist 2018, Science Fiction Award Database". sfadb.com. Retrieved 2025-09-17.
  8. "2018 Prix Utopiales Shortlist". Locus . 27 June 2018.