Arto Tapio Paasilinna (, approximately ; 20 April 1942 – 15 October 2018) was a Finnish writer, being a former journalist turned

comic novel A comic novel is a Novel, novel-length work of humorous fiction. Many well-known authors have written comic novels, including P. G. Wodehouse, Henry Fielding, Mark Twain, and John Kennedy Toole. Comic novels are often defined by the author's liter ...

ist. One of Finland's most successful novelists,exVirtual Finland, 2007 Archived at

Wayback Machine The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by Internet Archive, an American nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California. Launched for public access in 2001, the service allows users to go "back in ...

. he won a broad readership outside of Finland in a way few other Finnish authors have before. Translated into 27 languages, over seven million copies of his books have been sold worldwide, and he has been claimed as "instrumental in generating the current level of interest in books from Finland". Paasilinna is mostly known for his 1975 novel '' The Year of the Hare'' (''Jäniksen vuosi''), a bestseller in France and Finland, translated into 18 languages, awarded three international prizes, and adapted twice into feature films: a 1977 Finnish film directed by

Risto Jarva Risto Antero Jarva (15 July 1934 – 16 December 1977) was a Finnish filmmaker. Jarva usually approached his long films and short documentary films from some social problem and from one or more possible ways to solve it. Such problems included ...

called '' The Year of the Hare'', and a 2006 French film directed by

Marc Rivière Marc Rivière is a French film director, director, actor and screenwriter. He has worked extensively in French television. He directed the 2009 historic television drama La reine et le cardinal set during the early years of the reign of Louis XI ...

called ''

Le Lièvre de Vatanen ''The Year of the Hare'' () is a 2006 French, Belgian and Bulgarian film directed, written and produced by Marc Rivière. It is based on the 1975 novel '' The Year of the Hare'' by Arto Paasilinna, which has previously been made of a 1977 Fin ...

''. Arto Paasilinna's brothers are the writers Erno Paasilinna,

Reino Paasilinna Reino Paasilinna (5 December 1939 – 21 July 2022) was a Finnish politician who served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP). He was a member of the Social Democratic Party of Finland, which is part of the Party of European Socialdemoc ...

and Mauri Paasilinna.

Early and family life

Arto Paasilinna was born on 20 April 1942 in the Alakylä part of the municipality of

Kittilä Kittilä (, , ) is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland and a popular holiday resort. It is located in northern Finland north of the Arctic Circle within the Lapland (Finland), Lapland Regions of Finland, region. The municipality ...

, in Lapland, Finland. His parents were Väinö Paasilinna (born Gullstén, changed his surname in 1934 after a family conflict) and Hilda-Maria Paasilinna (born Niva). The Paasilinnas had seven children, five sons and two daughters, including the writer Erno Paasilinna; the writer, MEP and TV personality

; the painter Sirpa Paasilinna-Schlagenwarth; and the writer Mauri Paasilinna.Kuusela 2008. Paasilinna studied at the General and Elementary School Line at the Lapland Folk Academy.MFW 2008, Biography.

Career

Paasilinna initially worked as a journalist at ''Nuoren Voiman Liitto'', '' Nuori Voima'' and various newspapers as writer and editor. At the weekly magazine '' Apu'', he was an editor (1968–1970) and later a columnist (1975–1988). In 1975, at the age of 33, Paasilinna found journalism growing "more superficial and meaningless" and desired a change;Polojärvi 1999. that summer, he sold his boat to fund the writing of '' The Year of the Hare''. The book was an immediate success and from 1975 on Paasilinna became an independent writer able to support himself with his novels, signed to Finnish publisher WSOY since 1977. He still wrote journalism articles and was a columnist on Finnish radio. In 2000, Paasilinna was included in the 6th edition of literary critic Pekka Tarkka^{( fi)}'s dictionary ''Suomalaisia nykykirjailijoita'' ("Finnish Literary Authors", 1st ed. 1967). In 2002, for Paasilinna's 60th anniversary, journalist Eino Leino published a biography of Paasilinna called ''Lentojätkä. Arto Paasilinnan elämä"'' ("The Flight Dude"). The same year Paasilinna published his own autobiography called ''Yhdeksän unelmaa'' ("Nine Night's Dream"). , Paasilinna had published about 12 non-fiction books and 35 novels, with almost one novel each year from 1972 to 2009 (except 1973, 1978, 2002): as his publishers say, "The annual Paasilinna is as much an element of the Finnish autumn as falling birch leaves." He is "constantly being translated into new languages",FILI 2008. and 18WSOY 2009. of his books have been translated overall into at least 27WSOY 2009: Paasilinna is translated in 27 languages, being Albanian, Catalan, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Ersän, Estonian, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latvian, Lithuan, Mokshan, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish. languages: the translations beyond neighboring Scandinavian countries include: 17 into Italian, 16 into German, :de:Arto Paasilinna 11 into French, 9 into Slovenian, 6 into Dutch, 5 into Spanish, 4 into Korean, and 2 into English, Ukrainian and Catalan. Described as "The brightest star in the Finnish translated-literature firmament"Petäjä 2006. by Finnish newspaper ''

Helsingin Sanomat , abbreviated ''HS'' and colloquially known as , is the largest subscription newspaper in Finland and the Nordic countries, owned by Sanoma. Except after certain holidays, it is published daily. Its name derives from that of the Finnish capital ...

'', his success is claimed as having been "instrumental in generating the current level of interest in books from Finland" by his publisher WSOY. Paasilinna's books reflect quite common Finnish life, usually from a middle-aged male perspective, and in rural Finland.Binder 2002. Fast-paced, light and humorous in style, many of these narratives can be described as picaresque adventure stories with often a satirical angle towards modern life. Certain of his stories have been described as modern fables, such as ''The Year of the Hare'', which sets an ex-journalist's quest for authentic life and values in the Finnish backwoods against the emptiness and meaninglessness of modern consumer society. Vatanen, the hero of this novel, takes an injured young hare with him on his quest, nursing the animal back to health, while his own dissatisfaction with his former urban lifestyle becomes ever more evident. His 1974 novel ''Paratiisisaaren Vangit'' appears as ''Prisonniers du Paradis''. This book is the humorous story of a UN charter that crashes on a deserted Pacific island. The passengers are lumberjacks and other forestry workers, midwives and nurses. As with ''The Year of the Hare'' (in French, ''Le lièvre de Vatanen''), the narrator is a journalist. The multinational castaways (Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian and English) give Paasilinna ample opportunity to poke fun at issues of language domination and national stereotypes. The castaways set up a

cashless society In a cashless society, financial transactions are not conducted with physical banknotes or coins, but instead with digital information (usually an electronic representation of money). Cashless societies have existed from the time when human soc ...

in which the only remuneration comes in the form of a cup of alcohol distilled in their jungle café in exchange for work for the collectivity. There is also a family planning clinic offering free

IUDs An intrauterine device (IUD), also known as an intrauterine contraceptive device (IUCD or ICD) or coil, is a small, often T-shaped birth control device that is inserted into the uterus to prevent pregnancy. IUDs are a form of Long-acting rever ...

. Soon, they find that they are not alone on the island and come up with a plan to get help. Two of his novels, ''Lentävä kirvesmies'' and ''Rovasti Huuskosen petomainen miespalvelija'' were adapted to

graphic novel A graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and Anthology, anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics sc ...

s by Hannu Lukkarinen.

Bibliography

In Finnish

Titles in quotes are indicative for untranslated books. Fiction His 36 novels are: *1972: ''Operaatio Finlandia'' ("Operation Finlandia") *1974: ''Paratiisisaaren vangit'' ("Prisoners of the Paradise Island") *1975: ''Jäniksen vuosi'' (tr. '' The Year of the Hare'', 1995) *1976: ''Onnellinen mies'' ("The Happy Man") *1977: ''Isoisää etsimässä'' ("Looking for Grandfather") *1979: ''Sotahevonen'' ("Warhorse") *1980: ''Herranen aika'' ("Goodness Gracious") *1981: ''Ulvova mylläri'' (tr. '' The Howling Miller'', 2007) *1982: ''Kultainen nousukas'' ("Golden Climber") *1983: ''Hirtettyjen kettujen metsä'' ("The Forest of the Hanged Foxes") *1984: ''Ukkosenjumalan poika'' ("The Son of the Thunder God") *1985: ''Parasjalkainen laivanvarustaja'' ("Bestfooted Shipwright") *1986: ''Vapahtaja Surunen'' ("Saviour Surunen") *1987: ''Koikkalainen kaukaa'' ("Koikkalainen from Far Away") *1988: ''Suloinen myrkynkeittäjä'' ("The Sweet Poison Cook") *1989: ''Auta armias'' ("Heaven Help Us") *1990: ''Hurmaava joukkoitsemurha'' (" A Charming Mass Suicide") *1991: '' Elämä lyhyt, Rytkönen pitkä'' ("Life Short, Rytkönen Long") *1992: ''Maailman paras kylä'' ("The Best Village in the World") *1993: ''Aatami ja Eeva'' ("Adam and Eve") *1994: ''Volomari Volotisen ensimmäinen vaimo ynnä muuta vanhaa tavaraa'' ("Volomari Volotinen's First Wife and Assorted Other Old Items") *1995: ''Rovasti Huuskosen petomainen miespalvelija'' ("Reverend Huuskonen's Beastly Manservant") *1996: ''Lentävä kirvesmies'' ("The Flying Carpenter") *1997: ''Tuomiopäivän aurinko nousee'' ("Doomsday's Sun Rising") *1998: ''Hirttämättömien lurjusten yrttitarha'' ("The Herb Garden of the Unhanged Scoundrels") *1999: ''Hirnuva maailmanloppu'' ("Neighing End of the World") *2000: ''Ihmiskunnan loppulaukka'' ("Mankind's Final Trot") *2001: ''Kymmenen riivinrautaa'' ("The Ten Shrews") *2003: ''Liikemies Liljeroosin ilmalaivat'' ("Airships of Businessman Liljeroos") *2004: ''Tohelo suojelusenkeli'' ("Goofy Guardian Angel") *2005: ''Suomalainen kärsäkirja'' ("Finnish Snoutbook") *2006: ''Kylmät hermot, kuuma veri'' ("Cold Nerves, Hot Blood") *2007: ''Rietas rukousmylly'' ("Lewd Prayermill") *2008: ''Neitosten karkuretki'' ("Runaway Trip of the Maidens") *2009: ''Elävänä omissa hautajaisissa'' ("Alive at His Own Funeral") *2019: ''Laki vaatii vainajia'' ("The Law Requires Casualties") Non-fiction His other books include: * 1964: ''Karhunkaataja Ikä-Alpi'' ("Ikä-Alpi, Bear Hunter") - first book * 1971: ''Kansallinen vieraskirja, graffiitti eli vessakirjoituksia'' - toilet graffiti guide * 1984: ''Seitsemän saunahullua suomalaista'' (tr. ''Businessman's Guide to the Finnish Sauna'', 1984) * 1986: ''Kymmenen tuhatta vuotta'' (tr. ''Illustrated Episodes in a 10,000-year Odyssey: A Businessman's Guide to Finnish History'', 1986) * 1998: ''Hankien tarinoita'' (tr. ''Tales of the Snowfields: Finnish Skiing Through the Ages'', 1998) * 2002: ''Yhdeksän unelmaa'' ("Nine Night's Dreams") - autobiography * 2003: ''Sadan vuoden savotta'' ("One Hundred Years of Logging") - history of Finnish logging

In English

:MFW 2008, Translated work. Fiction * 1995: '' The Year of the Hare'' (''Jäniksen vuosi'', 1975) * 2007: '' The Howling Miller'' (''Ulvova mylläri'', 1981) (tr. Will Hobson from French) Non-fiction * 1984: ''Businessman's Guide to the Finnish Sauna'' (''Seitsemän saunahullua suomalaista'', 1984) * 1986: ''Illustrated Episodes in a 10,000-year Odyssey: A Businessman's Guide to Finnish History'' (''Kymmenen tuhatta vuotta'', 1986) * 1998: ''Tales of the Snowfields: Finnish Skiing Through the Ages'' (''Hankien tarinoita'', 1998)

Filmography

Many books have been adapted into movies (some dubbed into English), including: * 1977: '' Jäniksen vuosi'' / ''The Year of the Hare'' (after the 1975 novel) * 1982: '' Ulvova mylläri'' / ''The Howling Miller'' (after the 1981 novel) * 1986: '' Hirtettyjen kettujen metsä'' (after the 1983 novel) * 1996: '' Elämä lyhyt, Rytkönen pitkä'' (after the 1991 novel) * 2000: '' Hurmaava joukkoitsemurha'' / ''A Charming Mass Suicide'' (after the 1990 novel) * 2002: '' Kymmenen riivinrautaa'' (after the 2001 novel) * 2006: ''

'' (French for "Vatanen's Hare", after the 1975 novel)

Personal life

In 2008 and 2009, while still living in

Espoo Espoo (, ; ) is a city in Finland. It is located to the west of the capital, Helsinki, in southern Uusimaa. The population is approximately . It is the most populous Municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland. Espoo is part of the Helsi ...

, Paasilinna was featured in Finnish tabloids for his incoherent behaviour, including

reckless driving In United States law, reckless driving is a major moving violation related to aggressive driving that generally consists of driving a vehicle with willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property. It is usually a more serious o ...

. In October 2009, Paasilinna was rushed to a hospital due to a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

. In April 2010, he was moved to a

convalescent home A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, is a historic name for a specialised hospital for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments, and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often in a health ...

for recovery, and his son named as his treasurer. Paasilinna died on 15 October 2018 in a nursing home in Espoo.

Notes

References

* Binder, David (2002)
"A Skewed and Skewering Look at Finland"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', Arts section, query.nytimes.com, 6 July 2002 — Overview of Paasilinna's books. * FILI (2008)
"FILI FAQ - Everything you ever wanted to know about the translation and promotion of Finnish literature"
Finnish Literature Society: Finnish Literature Exchange, www.finlit.fi/fili/en, last-modified 2008, consulted in January 2009 * Kuusela, Kauko (2008)
"Paasilinna Family: Arto Paasilinna"
(

Google Translate Google Translate is a multilingualism, multilingual neural machine translation, neural machine translation service developed by Google to translation, translate text, documents and websites from one language into another. It offers a web applic ...

d from the Finnish of "Paasilinnojen Suku"), www.tervola.fi/KUUSELA, updated 28 September 2008, consulted in January 2009 — Genealogy and overview of the Paasilinna's. * MFW (2008), "Paasilinna, Arto
BiographyBibliographyTranslated work
, ''Modern Finnish Writers'', kirjailijat.kirjastot.fi, updated 13 November 2008, consulted in January 2009 * Petäjä, Jukka (2006)
"Finnish books in translation finding their way onto European shelves"
'' Helsingin Sanomat International Edition'', www.hs.fi/english, 7 January 2006 * Polojärvi, Tuula (1999)
"Arto Paasilinna: The Myth and the Original"
( Archive.org copy of 2006,

d from the Swedish "Arto Paasilinna: Myten och originalet"), ''Alba'' No. 7, www.alba.nu, 8 December 1999 — Interview of Paasilinna. * Virtual Finland (2000),, Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, virtual.finland.fi, January 2000 — Summary of Paasilinna's career. * WSOY (2009)
"Arto Paasilinna: Translations"
www.wsoy.fi, consulted in January 2009 — From his home publisher.

External links

Arto Paasilinnan Seura ry
(Arto Paasilinna Society)
Arto Paasilinna
at Fantastic Fiction (list of English translations: summary, covers, editions, ISBN) Reviews in English of untranslated books

at ''The Complete Review''
''Hurmaava joukkoitsemurha'' ("An Enchanting Mass Suicide", South-Korean edition)
at '' The Dong-a Ilbo''
''Maailman paras kylä'' ("The Best Village in the World")
at ''The Complete Review''

at ''The Complete Review'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Paasilinna, Arto 1942 births 2018 deaths Finnish male journalists Finnish male novelists Finnish male poets People from Kittilä 20th-century Finnish novelists 20th-century Finnish poets 20th-century Finnish journalists 20th-century Finnish male writers 21st-century Finnish novelists Finnish satirists Finnish satirical novelists 21st-century Finnish poets 21st-century Finnish journalists 21st-century Finnish male writers Writers from Lapland (Finland)