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The Unknown Soldier(novel)

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The Unknown Soldier (Finland)
First edition
AuthorVäinö Linna
Original titleTuntematon sotilas
TranslatorLiesl Yamaguchi (2015)
Cover artistMartti Mykkänen
LanguageFinnish
GenreWar novel
Published1954 (WSOY)
Publication date
3 December 1954
Publication placeFinland
Published in English
1957 (Collins,UK)
1957 (Putnam's,US)
2015 (Penguin Books) asUnknown Soldiers
Media typePrint (Hardback&Paperback)
Pages476, 21cm
ISBN9789510430866
OCLC37585178

The Unknown Soldier(Finnish:Tuntematon sotilas,Swedish:Okänd soldat) orUnknown Soldiersis awar novelby Finnish authorVäinö Linna,considered hismagnum opus.Published in 1954,The Unknown Soldierchronicles the 1941–1944Continuation WarbetweenFinlandand theSoviet Unionfrom the viewpoint of ordinary Finnish soldiers. In 2000, the manuscript version of the novel was published with the titleSotaromaani( "the war novel" ) and in 2015, the latest English translation asUnknown Soldiers.A fictional account based closely on Linna's own experiences during the war, the novel presented a more realistic outlook on the formerly romanticized image of a noble and obedient Finnish soldier. Linna gave his characters independent and critical thoughts, and presented them with human feelings, such as fear and rebellion.

Although published to mixed reviews,The Unknown Soldierquickly became one of the best-selling books in Finland and is considered both a classic inFinnish literatureand a part of the national legacy.[1][2]The novel was well received by frontline veterans; it shot Linna to literary fame and has been described as creating a shift in the collective memory of the war. It has sold nearly 800,000 copies, been translated into 20 different languages and adapted into three films withthe latest onereleased in 2017.

Setting and characters

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The novel follows soldiers of aFinnish Armymachine guncompanyoperating on theKarelianfront during theContinuation Warfrom mobilisation in 1941 to theMoscow Armisticein 1944. The company's action is based on Infantry Regiment 8 (Finnish:Jalkaväkirykmentti 8), the actual unit Väinö Linna served in.[3][4]The novel has no single central character and both begins and ends with an ironic play on the narrator's omniscience. Rather, its focus is on different responses and views on the experience of war from a soldier's point of view.[5][6]

The men of the company come from all over Finland, they have widely varying social backgrounds and political attitudes, and everyone has their own way of coping with the war. The novel paints realistic, yet sympathetic, portraits of a score of very different men: cowards and heroes—the initially naive and eventually brave upper-class idealist Kariluoto; the down-to-earth Koskela; the hardened and cynical working-class grunt Lehto; the company comedian Vanhala; the pragmatic and strong-nervedAntero "Antti" Rokka;the politically indifferent Hietanen, and thecommunistLahtinen.[7][2][5][8][6][9]Most of the characters are killed in action during the course of the novel. Nevertheless, the general atmosphere of the machine gun company is relaxed and business-like, even childish and jolly, throughout the story, despite the war, losses, death and despair. The soldiers' continued disrespect for formalities and discipline is a source of frustration for some of the officers.[5][8]

Plot

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'Koskela the Finn. Eats iron and shits chains.'[Koskela introducing himself while intoxicated.]

Väinö Linna,Unknown Soldiers,p. 298, translated by Liesl Yamaguchi in 2015.

The novel starts with the company transferring in June 1941 from their barracks to the Finnish-Soviet border in preparation for theinvasion of the Soviet Union.Soon after, the soldiers receive theirbaptism by firein an attack over a swamp on Soviet positions. Captain Kaarna is killed during the battle and the stern Lieutenant Lammio takes his place as company commander. Amidst a series of battles, the company assaults a Sovietbunkerline on a ridge and stops an armoured attack, the ambushed and abandoned Lehto commits suicide during a regimentalflanking maneuver,and the soldiersadvance into East Karelia.The company eventually crosses theold borderlost during theWinter Warand the soldiers ponder the justification for the continued invasion. In October 1941, the company is stationed in the captured and pillagedPetrozavodsk,where the novel follows the soldiers interacting with the locals.

Two men are executed after refusing to follow orders to fend off a Soviet winter attack along theSvir river—during which Lahtinen is killed while trying to carry off hisMaxim M/32-33machine gun and Rokka distinguishes himself by ambushing a 50-strong enemy unit with aSuomi KP/-31submachine gun. The story moves on to thetrench warfareperiod of the war. The period includes the soldiers drinkingkilju(a home-made sugar wine) during Commander-in-Chief Field MarshalCarl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim's birthday celebrations and getting drunk, a new recruit being killed by asniperfor failing to listen to advice from experienced veterans and raising his head above the trench, and Rokka capturing an enemy captain during a nightly Soviet probe into the Finnish trenches.

The final act of the novel describes the defence against the SovietVyborg–Petrozavodsk offensiveof summer 1944, the withdrawal and counter-attacks of the Finnish Army, and the numerous losses that the company suffers. The company abandons their machine guns in a lake while withdrawing from a hopeless defence, and Lieutenant Colonel Karjula executes the retreating Private Viirilä in a burst of rage while trying to force his men into positions. Koskela is killed while disabling an attacking Soviet tank with asatchel chargeand Hietanen is blinded in an artillery strike, while saving a young serviceman from being shot, and later dies when the ambulance evacuating him is attacked. Asumaniemi, an ambitious young private, is the last one to die during the company's last counter-attack. The war ends in a ceasefire in September 1944, with the soldiers rising from theirfoxholesafter the final Soviet artillery barrage stops. The survivors listen to the first radio announcements of the eventualMoscow Armistice.The novel's last sentence describes the characters of the unit as "[r]ather dear, those boys."

Themes

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Jorma Kariluoto had paid his dues into the common pot of human idiocy.[The narrator after Kariluoto's death.]

Väinö Linna,Unknown Soldiers,p. 412, translated by Liesl Yamaguchi in 2015.

Väinö Linna wrote in his manuscript cover letter to the publisherWSOYthat he wanted "to give the soldiers, who bore the weight of the calamity, all the appreciation and strip war of its glory".[9][10]Gritty and realistic, the novel was partly intended to shatter the myth of a noble, obedient Finnish soldier. In Linna's own words, he wanted to give the Finnish soldier a brain, an organ he saw lacking in earlier depictions—such asJohan Runeberg'sThe Tales of Ensign Stål,where Finnish soldiers are admiringly portrayed with big hearts and little independent intellect.[11]The Unknown Soldieris closely based on Linna's own experiences as a Finnish Army soldier in Infantry Regiment 8 during the Continuation War with many of its scenes derived from factual events, but is more or less fictional.[2][5][12][3][13]

The novel has been described as an honest, uncomforting, forlorn, pacifist and critical outlook on the war between the Soviet Union and Finland.The Heralddescribed Linna's aim as "not to home in on individual plights and agendas but to show the whole great shapeless mass of a platoon, one that is continuously besieged and pared down".The Independentstated that Linna examines nationhood and "the fate of small nations in particular" while the novel's "wisest characters come to regard nationality as a matter of chance".[5][6][14]Aku Louhimies,director of the 2017 film adaptation, analysed Linna's intentions as follows: "I think [his] original idea was to show the events so that they would also act as a warning."[15]

Reception and legacy

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The novel initially received mixed reviews and was not expected to be a commercial success by its publishers, but has since become a revered householdclassicthat Finns are given to read at school. By 2017, it had sold nearly 800,000 units.[6][2]It launched Väinö Linna into a steady career as a public figure andThe Unknown Soldierwas adapted into different formats for theatre, cinema and radio. Released ten years after the end of the Continuation War, the novel is considered to be the first medium that gave a realistic description of the conflict instead of a polished one. Although the book was criticized, for example, by senior officers of theFinnish Defence Forcesas an erroneous account of the war, the book was well received by the masses and frontline veterans who thought it depicted their experiences accurately.[10][12][14][16]

The Unknown Soldierand its first film adaptation of 1955 created a shift in the cultural memory of the war. Likewise, the novel is widely believed to have a special cultural status whereby only a limited number of ways to adapt the canon text are considered acceptable.[2]The cover art of a soldier's white silhouette against a red background, designed byMartti Mykkänen,became similarly famous and is often used as a symbol for war in Finland.[12][16]The novel contributed numerous expressions and idioms intoFinnish cultureand language, with phrases that are popular to the point of some having becomeclichès.Few remember the exact characterisations from the book, but some phrases are known word for word. Some of the characters even became role models. For example, the disobedient but competent and pragmatic Rokka, or the humane jokester, Hietanen, are described as typical role models, while the calm, fair and composed Koskela is the paragon of every Finnish leader. In conclusion, the novel is considered to be a defining part of the national legacy and identity of Finland. As such, the 1955 film adaptation byEdvin Laineis broadcast on national television everyIndependence Dayand seen by nearly 20% of the Finnish population.[2][7][9][17][18][19]

Editions

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The first United Kingdom edition of The Unknown Soldier byCollinsin 1957.

By 2017, the book had been printed in 60 editions in Finland.[2]Its first English translations were published in 1957 byWilliam Collins, SonsandG. P. Putnam's Sonsin the United Kingdom and the United States, respectively. It has since been translated into 20 other languages.[20]An unedited manuscript version was published in2000by WSOY asSotaromaani( "the war novel" )—Linna's working title forThe Unknown Soldier.[21]Penguin Bookspublished a new English translation by Liesl Yamaguchi in 2015 with the idiosyncratic titleUnknown Soldiersto reflect the lives of young Finnish soldiers in the war.[22][23]

Adaptations

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See also

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References

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Footnotes

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  1. ^"The Unknown Soldier".suomifinland100.fi.Archivedfrom the original on 16 November 2017.Retrieved16 November2017.The Unknown Soldier, the story, the characters, their experiences and suffering are part of Finland's national legacy – and part of the identity of the war generation and their children. It is a story we must not forget.
  2. ^abcdefgPajunen, Julia; Korsberg, Hanna (16 November 2017)."Performing Memory, Challenging History: Two Adaptations of The Unknown Soldier".Contemporary Theatre Review.28(2): 224–234.doi:10.1080/10486801.2017.1365715.ISSN1048-6801.
  3. ^ab"Tuntemattoman sotilaan todellinen rykmentti"[True regiment of The Unknown Soldier].Yle(in Finnish). 12 September 2016.Archivedfrom the original on 7 November 2017.Retrieved4 November2017.
  4. ^"Väinö Linnan Tuntematon sotilas pohjautuu pitkälle kirjailijan oman jalkaväkirykmentin sotataipaleeseen".Ilta-Sanomat(in Finnish). 6 December 2015.Archivedfrom the original on 15 November 2017.Retrieved14 November2017.
  5. ^abcdeSjåvik, Jan (19 April 2006).Historical Dictionary of Scandinavian Literature and Theater.Scarecrow Press. p. 173.ISBN9780810865013.Archivedfrom the original on 7 January 2018.
  6. ^abcd"Vaino Linna: Unknown Soldiers (Penguin Classics)".The Herald.26 April 2015.Archivedfrom the original on 7 November 2017.Retrieved7 January2018.
  7. ^abMalmberg, Ilkka (2016)."Kohti uutta tuntematonta"[Towards the new unknown].Helsingin Sanomat(in Finnish).Archivedfrom the original on 20 July 2016.Retrieved23 January2018.
  8. ^abVilkman, Sanna (24 October 2017)."Aku Louhimiehen Tuntematon sotilas vie kunnian sodalta, mutta ei sotilailta"[Aku Louhimies' The Unknown Soldier takes honor from war, but not from soldiers].Yle Uutiset(in Finnish).Archivedfrom the original on 1 December 2017.Retrieved29 November2017.
  9. ^abcJörgensen, Aki (18 August 2015)."Essee: Kaikkien tuntemat sotilaat -" Haluaisin elokuvan hiljaisista, jotka ovat meille yhä tuntemattomia ""[Essay: The all-known soldiers - "I would like a movie about the silent, who are still unknown to us" ].Savon Sanomat(in Finnish).Archivedfrom the original on 14 November 2017.Retrieved14 November2017.
  10. ^abVilkman, Sanna (24 October 2017)."Aku Louhimiehen Tuntematon sotilas vie kunnian sodalta, mutta ei sotilailta"[Aku Louhimies' The Unknown Soldier takes honor from war, but not from soldiers].Yle Uutiset(in Finnish).Archivedfrom the original on 1 December 2017.Retrieved29 November2017.
  11. ^Zetterberg, Seppo (1987).Suomen historian pikkujättiläinen.Helsinki: WSOY. pp. 867–868.ISBN9510142530.
  12. ^abcSyrjä, Jaakko (2004).Muistissa Väinö Linna 1.Helsinki: WSOY.ISBN9510296465.
  13. ^"Väinö Linnan Tuntematon sotilas pohjautuu pitkälle kirjailijan oman jalkaväkirykmentin sotataipaleeseen".Ilta-Sanomat(in Finnish). 6 December 2015.Retrieved14 November2017.
  14. ^abLiu, Max (7 May 2015)."Unknown Soldiers by Vaino Linna; trans. Liesl Yamaguchi, book review".The Independent.Archivedfrom the original on 8 January 2018.Retrieved3 November2017.
  15. ^Rossing Jensen, Jorn (10 January 2017)."I am not keen on presenting heroes".Cineuropa.Archivedfrom the original on 10 November 2017.Retrieved9 November2017.
  16. ^abHelen, Olli (2005).Tunnetko Tuntemattoman?.Tampere: Kustannus Oy Aamulehti.ISBN9525601005.
  17. ^"The Unknown Soldier".suomifinland100.fi.Archivedfrom the original on 16 November 2017.Retrieved16 November2017.The Unknown Soldier, the story, the characters, their experiences and suffering are part of Finland's national legacy – and part of the identity of the war generation and their children. It is a story we must not forget.
  18. ^Koistinen, Wesa (4 December 2015).""Mennäänpäs mokoman suon yli, että heilahtaa" – Mitä Tuntemattoman sotilaan lausahduksia sinulle on jäänyt mieleen? ".savonsanomat.fi – Savon Sanomat(in Finnish).Archivedfrom the original on 7 November 2017.Retrieved4 November2017.
  19. ^"Finnish Independence Day: Galas, protests and war memories".Yle Uutiset.Retrieved8 November2017.
  20. ^"The Unknown Soldier".Bonnier Rights Finland.Archivedfrom the original on 7 November 2017.Retrieved4 November2017.
  21. ^"Sotaromaani"[A War Novel].WSOY(in Finnish).Archivedfrom the original on 7 November 2017.Retrieved3 November2017.
  22. ^"Unknown Soldiers by Väinö Linna".Penguin Books Australia.Archivedfrom the original on 7 November 2017.Retrieved4 November2017.
  23. ^"New translation of Finnish classic".Yle Uutiset.6 September 2014.Archivedfrom the original on 8 November 2017.Retrieved8 November2017.

General

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  • Linna, Väinö (2017).Tuntematon sotilas(Centenary Independence ed.). Helsinki: WSOY.ISBN9789510430866.
  • Linna, Väinö (2015).Unknown Soldiers.Translated by Yamaguchi, Liesl. London: Penguin Classics.ISBN978-0141393643.
  • Linna, Väinö (2000).Sotaromaani.Helsinki: WSOY.ISBN9510251879.
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