''Not Before Sundown'' (orig.

fin A fin is a thin component or appendage attached to a larger body or structure. Fins typically function as foils that produce lift or thrust, or provide the ability to steer or stabilize motion while traveling in water, air, or other fluids. F ...

. ''Ennen päivänlaskua ei voi'', United States: ''Troll – a love story'') is a novel by

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

writer Johanna Sinisalo published in 2000. In the same year it won a

Finlandia Prize The Finlandia Prize (; ) is a set of Finnish literary prizes awarded by the Finnish Book Foundation to "celebrate reading and highlight new Finnish first-rate literature." Considered the most prestigious in the nation, they are awarded annually in ...

for literature, and later the

James Tiptree, Jr. Award The Otherwise Award, originally known as the James Tiptree Jr. Award, is an American annual literary prize for works of science fiction or fantasy that expand or explore one's understanding of gender. It was initiated in February 1991 by science ...

in 2004 for works of science fiction or fantasy that expand or explore understanding of gender.

Plot

The story is about a homosexual photographer Mikael, who finds a young and injured

troll A troll is a being in Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human bei ...

from his home yard and takes it to his home. This troll is inspired by Finnish

folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

and is an intelligent, almost human-like animal that in appearance resembles a cat and a monkey. In the world of the novel trolls are existing animals instead of mythical creatures, although quite rare. The book has multiple narrative levels, and each chapter is broken into short segments that alternate between viewpoints of different characters. Interspersed between the story are newspaper articles, old stories, novel segments, jokes and other slightly altered history that illustrates the long relationship between humans and trolls in the world of the novel. By concentrating on gay characters the story explores power structures in interpersonal relationships without the need to consider how gender roles affect them.

Name

The name of the book as well as the names of its chapters are taken from a Finnish song ''Päivänsäde ja Menninkäinen'' by

Tapio Rautavaara Kaj Tapio Rautavaara (8 March 1915 – 25 September 1979) was a Finnish singer (bass-baritone), athlete and film actor. Life Early years Tapio Rautavaara was born in the municipality of Pirkkala (now Nokia, Finland, Nokia), a suburb of the ...

and

Reino Helismaa Reino Vihtori "Repe" Helismaa (12 July 1913 – 21 January 1965) was a Finns, Finnish singer-songwriter, musician and scriptwriter. Born in Helsinki, he was mainly known for his humorous, yet homely songs. One of his best-known interpreters was ...

, which says "Kas, menninkäinen ennen päivänlaskua ei voi milloinkaan olla päällä maan" (translated "A troll cannot ever stay above the ground before sundown").

Translations

The novel has been translated into the following languages: * Sweden: ''Bara sedan solen sjunkit'', publisher Wahlström & Widstrand, Stockholm, 2002, translator Ann-Christine Relander. *

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

: ''Pirms saulrieta nav lauts'', publisher Atena, Riga, 2002, translator Maima Grinberga. *

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

: ''Trolis'', , Vilnius, 2011, translator Danutė Sirijos Giraitė. * Japan: ''Tenshi wa mori e kieta'', publisher Sunmark Publishing, Tokyo, 2002, translator Mei Yumi. * UK: ''Not Before Sundown'', publisher Peter Owen Publishers, London, 2003, translator Herbert Lomas. * France: ''Jamais avant le coucher du soleil'', publisher Actes Sud, Arles, 2003, translator Anne Colin du Terrail. *

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

: ''Ne před slunce západem'', publisher One Woman Press, Prague, 2003, translator Viola Parente-Capková. * United States (edited from the British version): ''Troll – A Love Story''; publisher Grove/Atlantic, translator Herbert Lomas, 2004. * Germany: ''Troll - Eine Liebesgeschichte'', Tropen, 2005 (other information missing). *

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

: ''Nie przed zachodem słońca'', publisher slowo/obraz terytoria, 2005, translator Sebastian Musielak. * Spain: ''Angel y el troll "Una fábula sólo para adultos"'', publisher Ediciones Poliedro 2006, translator Bengt Oldenburg. * Russia: ''Troll'', publisher Amphora, Moscow, 2006, translators E. Ioffe, L. Virolainen

References

20th-century Finnish novels 2000 fantasy novels 2000s LGBTQ novels 2000 LGBTQ-related literary works LGBTQ speculative fiction novels

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

Love stories Finnish fantasy Novels with multiple narrators Novels based on folklore Novels about gay topics Books about trolls James Tiptree Jr. Award–winning works Tammi (company) books {{2000s-LGBT-novel-stub