''Memory of Water'' (Finnish: ''Teemestarin kirja'', "The Tea Master's Book") is the

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to pu ...

by Finnish author Emmi Itäranta, published in 2014 by

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...

. The Finnish version of the novel, which Itäranta wrote simultaneously along with the English one, was published in Finland in 2013 by the publishing house

Teos Teos () or Teo was an ancient Greek city on the coast of Ionia, on a peninsula between Chytrium and Myonnesus. It was founded by Minyans from Orchomenus, Ionians and Boeotians, but the date of its foundation is unknown. Teos was one of the t ...

. Set in a

dystopian A dystopia (lit. "bad place") is an imagined world or society in which people lead wretched, dehumanized, fearful lives. It is an imagined place (possibly state) in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmenta ...

future where fresh water is scarce, it tells the story of Noria, a young tea master's apprentice, who must come to terms with a great secret and even greater responsibility that follows this knowledge. The Finnish manuscript won the Fantasy and Sci-Fi Literary Fiction contest organised by Teos in 2012 and was subsequently published. The book won the Kalevi Jäntti Award in 2012, and the Nuori Aleksis Award in 2013. It was also shortlisted for the 2013

Tähtivaeltaja Award Tähtivaeltaja Award is an annual literary prize presented by Helsingin science fiction seura ry for the best science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imag ...

. The English language version of the book has been featured on several shortlists in both the US and the UK - the Philip K. Dick Award,

Compton Crook Award The Compton Crook Award is presented by the Baltimore Science Fiction Society (BSFS) to the year's best English language debut novel in the science fiction, fantasy, or horror genres, as voted by its members. BSFS confers the award at their annua ...

, Golden Tentacle Award and

Arthur C. Clarke Award The Arthur C. Clarke Award is a British award given for the best science fiction novel first published in the United Kingdom during the previous year. It is named after British author Arthur C. Clarke, who gave a grant to establish the award ...

. The novel also appeared on the 2014

James Tiptree, Jr. Award The Otherwise Award, originally known as the James Tiptree Jr. Award, is an American annual literary prize for works of science fiction or fantasy that expand or explore one's understanding of gender. It was initiated in February 1991 by science ...

Honor List. In 2022, a

film adaptation A film adaptation transfers the details or story of an existing source text, such as a novel, into a feature film. This transfer can involve adapting most details of the source text closely, including characters or plot points, or the original sou ...

based on the novel was released, directed by Saara Saarela and starring Saga Sarkola.

References

{{reflist, 30em 2012 novels 2012 speculative fiction novels Environmental fiction books Dystopian novels Fiction about water scarcity 21st-century Finnish novels 2012 debut novels