The Oval

A humorous autobiographical novel about an unexpected journey out of a midlife crisis.

What do men yearn for when they're approaching fifty? The smell of petrol and the wind in their hair on a powerful motorbike or a yacht? To race through life, trying not to let it get away from them?

Miika doesn't have a driving licence or the slightest desire to be a rebel, so he decides to start running, lose almost twenty kilos, put on some spikes, and take part in a real race.

Can a sedentary writer become a trim sprinter? How much does it hurt? What drives him forward? And will he succeed in breaking the Finnish 400-metre record for his age category, as he has resolved to do?

In this autobiographical novel, Miika Nousiainen shows that he can perfectly poke fun not only at the Finnish character, as we know from his previous books, but also at himself.

An unrestrained, humorous story about two years of painful training on the track from the author of the successful In Pursuit of Pöyhönen.

The Track is a very witty book about an amateur runner who gradually becomes an almost professional athlete. Nousiainen's narrative is erudite, humorous and often makes the reader laugh.
— Kulttuuritoimitus

“Dear diary…”
“Shove your sweet nothings up your arse!”
“Now, now, what's all this about? We agreed we'd see this project through together, all the way to Gothenburg.”
“That was your idea. Yours alone. And then you buggered off somewhere to train for three months and didn't write a single line.”
“But when…”
“Yeah, we know the story. Just say it straight. You've got another training diary, some young dictation device or a notepad. And this little squared notebook with blue covers isn't good enough for you anymore, because the great man is aiming for the championships…”
“No, it's just, the training… I mean, I'm thrilled with it, but it's actually quite monotonous. It’s not book material. I'm still training, but I'm not writing about it anymore.”
“A load of old cobblers. You've always written about monotonous things. You're the most monotonous person in Finland!”
“But this phase, building the basic fitness… it's quite repetitive. I just eat, sleep, jump, run, throw a ball, lift weights, because there are no races, so I just graft every day in the hall. And…”
“So you do have another diary?”
“No, honestly, there isn't another one…”
— excerpt from the book