'Living Beings': A Chilling Exploration of Species Extinction

Finnish author Iida Turpeinen's novel "Żywe istoty" (Living Beings) delves into a profound and unsettling theme: the extinction of entire species. Unlike literature that focuses on human drama, animal adventures, or even the fate of humanity, Turpeinen centers her narrative on the disappearance of species as a collective phenomenon. The book's protagonist is not a person or an animal, but the very concept of extinction.

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I don't remember when I last held prose whose protagonist was not people, not even humanity, nor animals – we remember from our youth a whole section of literature whose protagonists were forest animals or traveling dogs – but entire species.

The novel confronts the scientific understanding that species are not immutable. It highlights the moment when researchers and nature enthusiasts realize that the long-held belief in the permanence of species has been disproven by science. This realization is particularly impactful as it underscores that extinction is not confined to the distant past, evidenced by the discovery of ancient fossils like dinosaurs.

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But this is more than a book about species. The protagonist of 'Living Beings' by Finnish writer Iida Turpeinen is not so much species as their extinction.

Instead, "Żywe istoty" emphasizes that extinction is a contemporary crisis, happening here and now. The narrative follows individuals who grapple with this urgent reality, witnessing firsthand the ongoing loss of biodiversity. The book serves as a stark reminder of the fragility of life and the profound implications of species loss in the present era.

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It is about this book, it is precisely on the pages of this novel that we accompany people, researchers, nature lovers, who suddenly realize that the assertion that species are constant has just been falsified by science.