Review: Finna by Nino Cipri

When I found out that this novella existed, I nearly instantly preordered it, because yes please, this book. When it popped up on NetGalley (which I should really stop looking at so often, lol), I jumped on it, because why not?!

So thanks to the author, as well as Macmillan-Tor/Forge via NetGalley for the review copy!

When an elderly customer at a big box furniture store slips through a portal to another dimension, it’s up to two minimum-wage employees to track her across the multiverse and protect their company’s bottom line. Multi-dimensional swashbuckling would be hard enough, but our two unfortunate souls broke up a week ago.

Can friendship blossom from the ashes of a relationship? In infinite dimensions, all things are possible.

“Seriously?” Jules said. They sighed with melodramatic disappointment. “We find a wrinkle in time and you tell the manager?”

This story caught my attention from an article on Tor.com. To quote the author:

“This story mixes together a lot of things that are close to my heart: queer relationships and queer feelings, the everyday awfulness of low-wage work, wormholes, and carnivorous furniture. It’s a story about what we can and can’t escape from: capitalism and accountability, labor and love.”

Queer feelings and carnivorous furniture, you say? Sign me absolutely all of the way up for this story, please.

Finna is the adventures of Ava and Jules, who work at LitenVärld, a big box furniture store that is definitely-not-IKEA-but-also-absolutely-definitely-IKEA.

A shopper’s grandmother has gone missing in the showroom area, and due to their being the lowest on the seniority tree, it’s up to Ava and Jules to find her. Color them both surprised when they find out that the showroom is suddenly full of portals to other dimensions – or as Jules puts it: ‘creepy Scandinavian Narnia’.

Ava and Jules just broke up a week ago though, and so on top of multi-dimensional missing persons rescue, and yes, carnivorous furniture, these two are dealing with a host of emotional shenanigans.

I really enjoyed this one. Every time I go to IKEA, I end up getting lost in the various showrooms they’ve got set up, so it was easy to imagine the idea of inter-dimensional wormholes opening up in one. I love how this book labels the showrooms too: Nihilist Bachelor Cube, Coked-out Divorcée, Midlife Crisis Mom. It made me giggle on that alone.

It was a fun, snarky, funny, and feelsy adventure. I liked Ava, but Jules stole the show for me by being snarky and full of wit in the face of everything, and I wanted them to succeed in everything, ever. ❤

All told, this was a quick, fantastic read! Much recommend!~ 5/5 stars!

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