The article introduces Lumberg’s major
literary work, the Memesa trilogy, composed of the novels Musta perhonen (Black Butterfly, 2004), Repalaiset siivet (Tattered Wings, 2006) and Samettiyö (Velvet Night, 2008), and discusses some of the features
of the reception for Lumberg’s novels, especially the debate on “literary
quality”. It then looks at some of the formal and generic aspects of the novel,
which I suggest should be read in the context of Lumberg’s activist background.
Finally, I analyse the multiple aspects of social criticism and criticism of
the welfare state in Lumberg’s Memesa trilogy, by focusing on the section
“Kärsimysten huoneet” (Rooms of Suffering) in Samettiyö. Throughout the article, I comment on the viability of
using the theorico-methodological tools of postcolonial studies. In the final
analysis, I employ concepts from disability studies and, briefly, juxtapose the
heroine of Lumberg’s novels with earlier representations of Romani women.