Arto Salminen (22 October 1959 – 15 November 2005) was a Finnish writer known for his

social commentary Social commentary is the act of using rhetorical means to provide commentary on social, cultural, political, or economic issues in a society. This is often done with the idea of implementing or promoting change by informing the general populace ab ...

. Salminen, who was born on 22 October 1959 in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

, had also worked as a journalist and taxi driver; he wrote six novels which criticised, with a morbid black sense of humour, such current phenomena in Finnish society as

neoliberal Neoliberalism is a political and economic ideology that advocates for free-market capitalism, which became dominant in policy-making from the late 20th century onward. The term has multiple, competing definitions, and is most often used pej ...

politics, the decline of the

welfare state A welfare state is a form of government in which the State (polity), state (or a well-established network of social institutions) protects and promotes the economic and social well-being of its citizens, based upon the principles of equal oppor ...

, tabloid media,

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and so on. His books gained a small cult following in Finland and they also received excellent reviews even though they did not sell particularly well. His 1998 novel ''Varasto'' (Stockroom), in which the stockroom of a paint company becomes a microcosm of contemporary Finland, was dramatized for the theater in 2005. Salminen received the Koskenkorva Prize in 1998, and the Olvi Prize in 2004. He was also a Runeberg Literary Award finalist in 2002. He died of a sudden stroke at

Hausjärvi Hausjärvi is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. Its seat is in Oitti. It is located in the provinces of Finland, province of Southern Finland and is part of the Tavastia Proper regions of Finland, region. The municipality has ...

on 15 November 2005. Salminen's novel ''Varasto'' was posthumously adapted as a comedy film, ''The Storage'', in 2011.

Bibliography

* ''Turvapaikka'' (1995) * ''Varasto'' (1998) * ''Paskateoria'' (2001) * ''Ei-kuori'' (2003) * ''Lahti'' (2004) * ''Kalavale'' (2005)

References

External links

Arto Salminen @ pHinnWeb
1959 births 2005 deaths Finnish-language writers Writers from Helsinki 20th-century Finnish novelists 20th-century Finnish journalists {{Finland-writer-stub