Berlin in der finnischen Literatur: Fluchtort, Anker in die Vergangenheit, exotische Großstadt?

In several works of the 21st century Finnish literature, Berlin is an important setting and point of reference, loaded with symbolic, psychological and political implications. In this article, I analyse three contemporary Finnish novels from 2003–2023, in which Berlin, its monuments and streets, its history and atmosphere, play an important role. The analysis reveals that these various literary representations of Berlin feature recurring patterns, with the same places frequently mentioned, all of which links the novels and produces a typical literary Berlin of contemporary Finnish literature. In the literary geography of the novels, Berlin is interconnected with other places, as well as with the fates and worldviews of the protagonists. It is a place to reflect on individual and political orientations, where personal revelations  take place and new developments in the lives of the characters are triggered.