Всяка страна си има свое лице в литературата, което вероятно отговаря на географски, политически и исторически характеристики. Финландия стои някъде там в единия ъгъл на Европа, с нейния суров климат, прекрасна природа и народ, който хем е на скандинавския полуостров, хем граничи с Русия, част от Европа е, но винаги се стреми към строга индивидуалност.Ако се върнем към литературата, независимо дали ще посегнете към добре познатите приказни истории на Туве Янсон, или към романите на класика Арто Паасалина, или към съвременните странни птици Йохана Синисало и Лена Крун, вероятно с една дума може да опишете чувството от тази среща. На английски тази дума е точно "weird", което на български може да го преведем като странен, смахнат, а може би най-добре ще звучи "изчанчен". Финландците с това са известни - с weird fiction-a си, или с изчанчената си литература, която може да ви притесни, шокира, хареса, отврати, разочарова, но със сигурност ще ви накара да я отличавате от всичко останало, което сте чели."Никога преди залез" е толкова финландска книга. В нея са преплетени в едно митология и урбанистичен реализъм - подход, подчертаващ темите-табу, които всеки се притеснява да зачопли, поради една или друга причина. Главният герой Микаел, представен още като Ангела, намира трол, тероризиран от младежи, и го прибира у дома. Микаел е също така и хомосексуалист, което не пречи да е талантлив професионалист с чудесни чисто човешки качества. Йохана Синисало вкарва още един комплексен образ - този на филипинката Паломита. Ако сте посещавали скандинавските страни, вероятно ще забележите доста югоизточни азиатки, женени за шведи, финландци и т.н. Това е един интересен феномен, което може да се дължи или на прекалената еманципираност на европейската жена и отказа й да се превъплати в домакиня и детегледачка, или на по-тъмни черти от мъжката природа. Синисало е избрала да засегне по-притеснителното: Паломита е непълнолетно момиче, продадена от семейството си като секс-кукла на невротичен социопат, който я превръща в затворничка.В един момент имаш чувството, че Паломита и Микаел са митологични същества, и те също като малкото тролче са пренебрегнати от обществото, сякаш са просто мит, който не съществува, а заедно с тях - и проблемите не съществуват. От Микаел се възползват много хора, както и в професионален, така и в личен план. За да оцелее Микаел явно трябва да избяга от реалността...или пък да покаже тролски нрав.Интересна е и структурата на романа. Синисало представя историята от гледната точка на всеки един от главните герои, показвайки начинът им на мислене. Както споменах, Синисало е типичен представител на weird-литературата. Книгите й или ще ви накарат да се погнусите, или ще ви заинтригуват по свой начин.http://lammothsblog.blogspot.com/2015...
At first I struggled with the way it was written because it's not written in a conventional style. It kind of reminded me how Bram Stoker's Dracula was written with the articles and short scenes from character POVs in between excerpts from other things, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing but it made it difficult for me to enjoy experiencing the characters. It was a bit like someone handing you an ice cream sundae and after a couple of enjoyable spoonfuls, getting it snatched out of your hands and then given back a few minutes later only for it to happen again and again. Having said that, and acknowledging also that it was a translated edition I read, I think the author is a very talented writer, I love the use of imagery and metaphors, reminds me a little bit of Angela Carter. I was able to fully comprehend and get a good idea of each character from the brief and sometimes abrupt writing that although seemed sparse, was actually full of information. I loved Palomita, I felt so sad for her situation and I hope that would get her own happy ending (if ever a sequel was written, who knows). I liked Angel too, but the other characters for the most part, troll aside, I didn't actually like all that much. They were bitter, single homosexuals who all wanted to stab each other in the back. The troll was adorable and I appreciated the effort the author had gone into making the existence of trolls believable and realistic. I also came to understand the meaning of the front cover LOL. The ending was...Interesting. Not what I expected at all and I consider it to be a positive ending but the way it's been left makes me feel like there could be a sequel, but at the same time I don't think there will be and that it's left that way so that the reader can come to their own conclusions about what happens next. I was just really glad that nothing awful happened. I think there were an awful lot of metaphors and moral comparisons being drawn between humanity and troll-kind, the treatment of trolls by humans, the evolution of religion alongside the evolution of troll mythology, the infiltration of society by the trolls and also a strange connection between homosexuality and bestiality. At what point does a love between human and troll stop being bestiality and start being, well, just love? It also made me think about the intelligence of animals, chimps and other apes in particular, because it became clear that the trolls were not just mindless killing machines. There was a lot of food for thought, whether intentionally or unintentionally. I would say this book is similar to Let The Right One In, because it makes you think and feel things for people and situations most people would generally turn to flaming torches and pitchforks over without actually giving it some consideration. I'd love to read some of Sinisalo's other books if/when they are translated to English.
What do You think about Troll: A Love Story (2004)?
I didn't hate the book but I did hate a lot about it. I dislike in general when books are written from many different points of view, and this one seemed particularly hard to follow because of it. Characters are referred to by several different names so I cant even keep track of whose point of view it was in relation to what they've been a part of in the past. Plus I got a sick feeling that the only reason the author made the main character, Angel, gay, was to make the leap to bestiality/pedophilia. I found that tacky and ignorant, even though that may not have been the authors intention. I found the character of Palomita depressing and irrelevant, unless to show that humans are often treated as animals even in the modern day, perhaps hinting that one day trolls will be treated as humans by everyone. Glad I read it but I have no desire to read anything else by this author.
—Becca Silvers
Photographe de pub, Ange tente de se remettre d'un amour sans espoir pour un homme hétéro lorsqu'il vient au secours d'un étrange petit animal perdu. Quelques recherches internet confirment ses soupçons : ils s'agit d'un bébé troll, créature issue des légendes scandinaves, dont l'existence réelle a été tardivement découverte. S'ensuit un apprivoisement mutuel de l'humain et de la bête, dans un jeu de fascination qui n'est pas sans dangers...J'ai longtemps classé ce roman parmi mes favoris. Je l'ai dévoré à une époque où la lecture m'était devenue difficile, et son étrangeté m'a durablement marquée. Partant de là, j'avais sans doute de trop hautes attentes en le relisant, et je me suis trouvée un peu déçue. Tout ce qui est fort dans ce roman m'est revenu au fil de la lecture. J'ai ainsi perdu l'effet de surprise, tandis que les éléments que j'avais oubliés m'ont semblés superflus, voire un peu grossiers. Heureusement, le récit reste plaisant à lire et la fin est toujours d'une perfection absolue. Ce qui n'est pas rien !
—Rainbowgirl
This is one of those books that is hard to describe and oh-so-worthwhile. It's a contemporary urban fantasy and trolls are real creatures. They are considered animals, and Angel, the main character, finds an abandoned baby troll in the alley. This is presented as like finding a wildcat cub. Adopt at own risk.Then he spends the rest of the book researching how to take care of it. So it's sort of like reading a short story with a whole bunch of reference documents tucked between scenes, but that comes nowhere near describing the emotional impact of the whole. Especially the last chapter. Recommended.
—Mary Robinette Kowal
