Väinö Linna’s Followers (101)

Väinö Linna

Born

in Urjala, Finland

December 20, 1920

Died

April 21, 1992

Influences

Fyodor Dostoevsky, Friedrich Nietzsche, Erich Maria Remarque, Arthur S ...more

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Väinö Linna was one of the most influential Finnish authors of the 20th century. He shot to immediate literary fame with his third novel, Tuntematon sotilas (The Unknown Soldier, published in 1954), and consolidated his position with the trilogy Täällä Pohjantähden alla (Under the North Star, published in 1959–1963 and translated into English by Richard Impola).

Väinö Linna was born in Urjala in the Pirkanmaa region. He was the seventh child of Viktor (Vihtori) Linna (1874–1927) and Johanna Maria (Maija) Linna (1888–1972). However, Linna's father, a butcher, died when Väinö Linna was only eight years old. Thus his mother had to support the entire family by working at a nearby manor. Despite his background, Linna's interest in literature bega Väinö Linna was one of the most influential Finnish authors of the 20th century. He shot to immediate literary fame with his third novel, Tuntematon sotilas (The Unknown Soldier, published in 1954), and consolidated his position with the trilogy Täällä Pohjantähden alla (Under the North Star, published in 1959–1963 and translated into English by Richard Impola).

Väinö Linna was born in Urjala in the Pirkanmaa region. He was the seventh child of Viktor (Vihtori) Linna (1874–1927) and Johanna Maria (Maija) Linna (1888–1972). However, Linna's father, a butcher, died when Väinö Linna was only eight years old. Thus his mother had to support the entire family by working at a nearby manor. Despite his background, Linna's interest in literature began early on. As a child, Linna loved adventure novels which he borrowed from the local library. The author's education was, however, limited to six years at a public school which he finished in the mid-1930s. After working as a lumberjack and a farm hand at the same manor where his mother had worked, Linna moved to Tampere in 1938. Typical of his generation, the adolescent author-to-be moved from the countryside to a developing city in search of industrial labour which he found at the Finlayson textile mills.

In 1940, Linna was conscripted into the army. The Second World War had broken out, and for Linna's part it meant participation in the Continuation War (1941–44). He fought on the eastern front. In addition to being a squad-leader, he wrote notes and observations about his and his unit's experiences. Already at this point Linna knew that writing would be his preferred occupation. However, failure to get the notes published led him to burn them. In spite of rejection, the idea of a novel, which would depict ordinary soldiers' views on war, would later lead him to write The Unknown Soldier.

After the war, Linna got married and started writing whilst working at the mills during the day. Throughout his time at Finlayson, Väinö Linna read avidly. Such authors as Schopenhauer, Dostoyevsky, and Nietzsche gained Linna's respect. Linna later said that Erich Maria Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front had also had a great influence on him. However, Linna's first two novels Päämäärä and Musta rakkaus sold poorly; he also wrote poetry but did not enjoy success with that either. Not until the release of The Unknown Soldier (1954) did he rise to fame. It is evident that at the time there was a distinct social need for a novel that would deal with the war and ordinary people's role in it. A decade after the peace treaty with the Soviet Union many Finns were ready to reminisce, some even in a critical manner. The Unknown Soldier satisfied that need completely, as its characters were unarguably more diverse, realistic yet heroic, than those of earlier Finnish war novels. The book soon became something of a best-seller, as it sold 175,000 copies in only six months — quite a lot for a Finnish novel in the 1950s. Yet, the reception of the book was harsh. In Finland's biggest newspaper, Helsingin Sanomat, the critic Toini Havu argued in her infamous review that Linna did not present his characters in a grand historical and ethical context, which she thought was crucial. Also modernists treated The Unknown Soldier with contempt. At the time Tuomas Anhava referred to The Unknown Soldier as a "boy's book" because of its action-packed storyline. The acceptance of the general public and Linna's determination were, however, enough to outdo the criticism in the end.

In the mid-50s, Linna moved to Hämeenkyrö and began to cultivate crops. In 1959, the first part of Under the North Star was released. The book was a success and other parts were to follow. The second part was published in 1960 and the final part in 1963. In 1964, Linna sold the farm and moved back to Tampere. This time he did not return to Finlayson, as he now could dedicate his life entirely to literature due to the financial success hi ...more

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Väinö Linna’s books

Average rating: 4.21 · 16,096 ratings · 752 reviews · 22 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Unknown Soldier 4.07 avg rating — 8,049 ratings — published 2000 — 23 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Täällä Pohjantähden alla 1–3 4.56 avg rating — 2,277 ratings — published 1962 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Under the North Star (Under the North Star, #1) by Väinö Linna, Richard Impola (Translator) 4.21 avg rating — 2,273 ratings — published 1959 — 31 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Täällä Pohjantähden alla 2 4.46 avg rating — 1,371 ratings — published 1960 — 25 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Täällä Pohjantähden alla 3 4.42 avg rating — 1,149 ratings — published 1962 — 20 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Sotaromaani: Tuntemattoman sotilaan käsikirjoitusversio by Väinö Linna, Yrjö Varpio (Foreword), Yrjö A. Jäntti (Foreword) 4.36 avg rating — 637 ratings — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Musta rakkaus 3.03 avg rating — 202 ratings — published 1948 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Päämäärä 2.84 avg rating — 80 ratings — published 1947	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Esseitä 3.58 avg rating — 12 ratings — published 1990	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Oheisia - Esseitä ja puheenvuoroja really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 4 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Väinö Linna…

Series by Väinö Linna

Under the North Star (3 books)
by

Väinö Linna

4.41 avg rating — 7,071 ratings

Quotes by Väinö Linna (?)

“Liberty medals...Are they trying to bribe me with coloured ribbons? I wouldn't kill a man for one of those things. Or go and be killed. Any shooting I do is to save my own life, and not for a ribbon and a hunk of bronze. [says Mäkelä]”
― Väinö Linna, The Unknown Soldier

tags: ethics, killing, morality, war

12 likes

“Returning to life was not easy, for joy had to find its long unused paths again.”
― Väinö Linna, The Uprising

tags: joy, life

6 likes

“Asialliset hommat suoritetaan,muuten ollaan kuin Ellun kanat.”
― Väinö Linna

tags: koskela, tuntematon-sotilas

6 likes

See all Väinö Linna's quotes »

Polls

March 2018 New School

Tender Is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald, 317 pgs, 1933

63 votes, 18.4%

The Castle by Franz Kafka, 316 pgs, 1926

39 votes, 11.4%

My Ántonia by Willa Cather, 232 pgs, 1918

34 votes, 9.9%

Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner, 320 pgs, 1936

29 votes, 8.5%

All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren, 439 pgs, 1946

25 votes, 7.3%

Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernières, 437 pgs, 1994

20 votes, 5.8%

The Wreath by Sigrid Undset, 305 pgs, 1920

20 votes, 5.8%

Cold Comfort Farm, by Stella Gibbons, 233 pgs, 1932

19 votes, 5.6%

The Book of Disquiet by Fernando Pessoa, 544 pgs, 1982

18 votes, 5.3%

Peyton Place by Grace Metalious, 384 pgs, 1956

13 votes, 3.8%

Ross Poldark by Winston Graham, 379 pgs, 1945

13 votes, 3.8%

The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton, 370 pgs, 1913

11 votes, 3.2%

The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim, 232 pgs, 1922

9 votes, 2.6%

The Unknown Soldier by Väinö Linna, 338 pgs, 1954

8 votes, 2.3%

The Professor's House by Willa Cather, 256 pgs, 1925

7 votes, 2.0%

The Fixer by Bernard Malamud, 335 pgs, 1966

4 votes, 1.2%

A House for Mr Biswas by V.S. Naipaul, 623 pgs, 1961

4 votes, 1.2%

Martin Eden by Jack London, 480 pgs, 1909

3 votes, 0.9%

Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain, 688 pgs, 1933

3 votes, 0.9%

342 total votes

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Väinö Linna’s Followers (101)

Väinö Linna

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Väinö Linna’s books