Helsinki City Blues is a collection of bittersweet tales, spiced up with silence and beer, about people who cannot figure out how they ended up in the souther pearl of Finland)at least not until they are caught in a love affair with it, one that will last until its time to go to sauna with the devil. The short stories contained in Helsinki City Blues are a homage to the indomitable vagabond spirit of certain people, particularly Latin Americans, who seem to live by the credo of Mae West: Between two evils, I always pick the one I never tried before. Moreover, these tales also celebrate, in its particular way, the spirit of the Finns: those adorable martians who master the art of sweating in a room at 100 degrees celsius and then jump in icy water, as well as the difficult skill of remaining completely silent for 30 minutes in the company of others without feeling uncomfortable about it. Neither Latin Americans nor Finns were hurt in the making of this book)not much, at least.