Rights sold:
WORLD ENGLISH: HarperCollins
CROATIA: Planetopia
ESTONIA: Rahva Raamat
FINLAND: Gummerus
FRANCE: Editions Leduc.s
Original title: Maailman kaunein sana
Author: Emmi Pesonen
Illustrator: Emmi Pesonen
Published: 2020 Fall
Publisher: Otava
Class/genre: Literary
Pages: 287
Reading material
English sample & synopsis
Download reading materials
Warm, humorous and beautiful debut novel from the point of view of a stepmother. Patchwork family life, and new beginnings.
- Debut novel by acclaimed screenwriter and actress
- Feature film in development by Aurora Studios
Amanda’s life is revolutionized when Onni curves into her life with a yellow minibus, chaos and four children riding along. She has been living an extended youth and cared mainly for her house plants until she met Onni and his kids. Happiness, the laundry pile and the dish mountains grow in their new home. Everything is always lost and the house is permanently messy, but Amanda firmly believes that love conquers all obstacles. But when Onni’s behavior starts to get weirder, she has to decide if love truly fixes everything.
Rights sold:
FINLAND: Otava (orig.)
ESTONIA: Eesti Raamat
FILM: Aurora Studios
”It’s a light and straightforward story, but addresses life’s big questions between the lines.”
– Kotiliesi magazine
”I recommend this book to all readers, not just those who are in a similar situation than the characters. You don’t have to be an urban hipsters in their thirties to love this book. The Most Beautiful Word challenges us to understand ourselves and each other.”
– Anun ihmeelliset matkat blog
”The Most Beautiful Word is a great love story in which the main character first falls in love with a man, and then with his children.”
– Luetut.net blog
Emmi Pesonen (b.1977) is a Helsinki-based writer, screenwriter and actress. She graduated in 2001 as a Master of Theater Arts and has worked as an actor in several in theaters, movies, and TV series. Pesonen is bilingual (Finnish-Swedish) and she has translated and dramatized Swedish-language plays. She is also the screenwriter of a movie The Violin Player (Violinist, Mjölk Movies), which premiered in Finland in 2018, and has toured successfully at more than 20 film festivals around the world (including Gothenburg, Moscow, Singapore, Kaliningrad). The film deals with power structures in the art world, passion and giving up.
The Most Beautiful Word (Otava, August 2020) is Pesonen’s debut novel. The book tells a story of a patchwork family from the point of view of the new step-mother. It’s a story of endless love, irreversible decision and learning new things. The movie rights have been optioned by Aurora Studios and a film is currently being developed.
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