Kaarlo (Kalle) Alvar Päätalo (11 November 1919 – 20 November 2000) was a Finnish

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

, the most popular Finnish writer in the 20th century. His ''Iijoki'' series, comprising 26 novels, is one of the longest autobiographical works ever written.Miehenkuva, Jenni Janatuinen 2005

Early life

Päätalo was born on 11 November 1919, and spent his childhood in the village of

Taivalkoski Taivalkoski () is a municipality of Finland, it is located in the Province of Oulu and is part of the Northern Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density Pop ...

Oulu Province The Province of Oulu (, , ) was a Provinces of Finland, province of Finland from 1775 to 2009. It bordered the provinces of Lapland (former province of Finland), Lapland, Western Finland and Eastern Finland and also the Gulf of Bothnia and Russia ...

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, ...

. Päätalo was the second oldest of eight children. Before Him, Toivo was born, but he died as a baby. After Päätalo, another son and five girls were born into the family. The oldest sister was Martta Aili (later Siljola, Keskisimonen and Lohilahti, 1922–1974). The next sibling was Brother Manne (born January 1, 1925), he died as a victim of a stabbing on September 2, 1947. After Manne, the family welcomed four girls: Kaarina, Edith, Terttu and Aune. His father, a lumberjack, suffered from mental disorders, and Päätalo had to maintain his family from the age of 14 in his father's profession. At the same time, he dreamed about becoming a writer and read avidly, being much influenced by

Jack London John Griffith London (; January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors t ...

's ''Martin Eden'' and

Mika Waltari Mika Toimi Waltari (; 19 September 1908 – 26 August 1979) was a Finnish writer, best known for his best-selling novel ''The Egyptian'' (). He was extremely productive. Besides his novels he also wrote poetry, short stories, crime novels, plays, ...

's guidebook for aspiring writers. His war service in

Winter War The Winter War was a war between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, three months after the outbreak of World War II, and ended three and a half months later with the Moscow Peac ...

and

Continuation War The Continuation War, also known as the Second Soviet–Finnish War, was a conflict fought by Finland and Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union during World War II. It began with a Finnish declaration of war on 25 June 1941 and ended on 19 ...

was cut short by being wounded. After the wars, he moved to

Tampere Tampere is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Pirkanmaa. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Tampere is approximately , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately . It is the most populous mu ...

where he studied at technical school, becoming a building contractor, and wrote short stories that were published in various magazines. He was married twice and had two daughters by the second marriage.

Career

Päätalo debuted as a novelist in 1958 with a novel set at a building site in Tampere. In his second novel ''Our Daily Bread'', the first book in the five-volume ''Koillismaa'' series, he turned to his native region. By this time, Päätalo was able to turn a freelance writer, and from 1962 until his death, he published one book each year. In 1971 he published what was to be the first volume in the 26-volume series ''Juuret Iijoen törmässä'' ('Roots in the Bank of River Ii'), probably the longest autobiographical narrative in the world (some 17,000 pages in total). The series charts Päätalo's life from his early childhood to the publication of his first novel, at the same time offering an interesting view of Finnish history over some four decades as seen from an individual's viewpoint. Though Päätalo's first books got favourable reviews, the prevailing critical attitude to his writing soon turned negative while his popularity remained steady. Some found the slowness of his narration and its seeming sticking to trifles tedious, while his innumerable fans, mostly among his own generation, were fascinated by the very abundance of detail, a meticulous reconstruction of the past. Other strengths of Päätalo's style are his absolute sincerity to the reader - he seemed to leave nothing of his life untold, yet his writing is never merely sensational - and his skillful way with spoken Finnish, especially his native dialect. Recently, many critics have begun to see his works in a new light and they have also attracted the attention of younger readers. As a recognition for his career, Päätalo received the Pro Finlandia medal and Professor's title in 1978 and an honorary doctorate at the

University of Oulu The University of Oulu () is one of the largest universities in Finland, located in the city of Oulu. It was founded on July 8, 1958. The university has around 14,200 students and 3,800 staff. 21 International Master's Programmes are offer ...

in 1994. Known as "the king of reprints" because of the phenomenal success of his books, Päätalo published 39 novels, two collections of short stories and one play in his lifetime, with more short stories having been published posthumously. Four of his books have been filmed, and all five volumes of the ''Koillismaa'' series have been translated into English by Richard Impola. Päätalo died 20 November 2000.

Works translated into English

* ''Our Daily Bread'' (''Koillismaa'', 1960) * ''Before the Storm'' (''Selkosen kansaa'', 1962) * ''Storm over the Land'' (''Myrsky Koillismaassa'', 1963) * ''After the Storm'' (''Myrskyn jälkeen'', 1965) * ''The Winter of the Black Snow'' (''Mustan lumen talvi'', 1969)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paatalo, Kalle 1919 births 2000 deaths People from Taivalkoski Finnish-language writers Writers from Northern Ostrobothnia Finnish military personnel of World War II 20th-century Finnish novelists Thanks for the Book Award winners