The most beautiful book of year 2023 in Finland is Liisa Kallio’s book Kädellisten sukua – Piirroksia ihmisyydestä, Humanity in Drawings. This collection of charcoal drawings inside grey cloth covers charms with its hapticity. The whole book exudes the joy of making things with one’s hands – and when faced by an onslaught of artificial intelligence, it feels like an important take or a declaration, even within the book world. The embossing on the cover makes the line drawing more three-dimensional, and the roughness of the bookcloth engages in an interesting dialogue with the rough charcoal drawing. The gentle, soft pink of the endpapers is as surprising as encountering human skin, and the fingerprints on it make the reader almost a part of the artist. The touch of fingers accompanies the images throughout the reading journey: the charcoal, the paper and the hand move the book forward. The images are extremely powerful, and it’s touching when the last image fades into the page. The list of images at the end is also concisely beautiful and informative.
