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Troll A Love Story Johanna Sinisalo 9780802141293 Books

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Troll A Love Story Johanna Sinisalo 9780802141293 Books

Once upon a time not too long ago, in a faraway northland of pine, birch and pristine lake, there lived a blond angel of great beauty desired by many (but loved by none) until one day a strange creature of the forest--half-cat, half-ape, with glossy black fur and golden eyes--caught his eye and then his heart.

Parable, fable, erotic fairy-tale, Finnish fantasy writer, Johanna Sinisalo`s `Troll,` is all of these and more. A work beyond classification, it manages the near impossible: to be a highly entertaining dramatic thriller and a great creative work all at once.

Angel--flaxen-haired Adonis--talented photographer wants those things just beyond his reach--namely the rather straighter, handsome Martes. Yet, Angel could have love elsewhere. Suitors abound. There`s Ecke, the nerdy bespectacled bookseller who swoons at the very thought of Angel. And then there`s Angel`s old flame, Dr. Spiderman, who regrets not having grabbed perfection when he had the chance. And even Angel`s Tagalog speaking neighbor, Palomita, who sees him as her savior. But nothing snags Angel`s vain and elusive heart until IT shows up behind a dumpster, threatened by local thugs. Upon seeing it, it`s love at first sight for Angel. "It`s the most beautiful thing I`ve ever seen, `he declares.

And so Pessi, cat-eyed and ape-faced, enters Angel`s glittery emptiness and never leaves. The next two hundred pages flash along like a driverless troika across the steppes. The story jumps between each of the characters` perspectives as they all move closer to Angel and the secret hidden in his apartment.

This inventive structure makes `Troll` a quick-paced and gripping read. Having the story fleshed out from all points of view gives an intimacy and immediacy to the tale. These narratives have an urgency and realness about them that lends the story its lifelike feel. They read like emails or text messages, appropriate for our tech-drenched times. Terse and vivid, they convey the drama`s bare bones while letting your imagination paint the rest. "But when I get home, drunk with happiness, the door`s ajar and Pessi`s gone."

Sandwiched between these snippets, Sinisalo wedges tidbits of troll-lore salvaged from a myriad of sources, the Internet, Finnish folk-lore, the Kalevala, Finnish classics like Vaino Inna`s `Unknown Soldier` and more. The effect of all this is as dazzling as it is dizzying. `Troll` reads as a singularly original piece of fiction.

The story itself starts as a spring and ends as a torrent. Secrets never last and Angel`s is no exception. From the beginning, you sense this tale will end badly for somebody(s, but you don`t know just how badly until it smacks you upside the head.

With its page-flipping drama and suspenseful conclusion, `Troll` is a fantastic ride, but what is Sinisalo trying to communicate here? The answers to this are as varied as they are endless. This is why `Troll` deserves the accolades it has received. The central question is whether this is truly a love story? `Is Angel in love with Pessi? Completely? Sexually as well? That`s a tough one to answer. Personally, I don`t think the work`s main theme to be bestiality. That would be too easy, too pedestrian. I think Sinisalo`s message is far more subtle and provocative.

Yes, Pessi fills the emptiness in Angel`s emotionally vacant life. But he could have love should he desire it. Ecke, Spiderman, even Palomita all stand before his altar ready to offer sacrifice. Angel just doesn`t want what is easy. Like us all, he craves the hard to get, the forbidden...Martes...the wild mystery of Pessi`s `juniper-berry smell...(that) overpowers my nostrils."

`Troll` offers up a lot of fascinating and equally disturbing questions for us humans. What happens when we, like Angel, cold shoulder our fellow humans and seek succor in other species? What are the consequences when we embrace the `wild?` Moreover, when we attempt to control that which is wild as does Angel with Pessi, or Palomita`s abusive husband with her, what are the consequences? And why has Pessi and fellow troll-mates shown up in human areas? Are we humans so prideful to think our actions against other life on this planet bear no consequence?

If your fancy is a well-paced, imaginative thriller full of the fantastical and yet all-too-real, then `Troll` is a must read. And afterwards, keep this treasure, for it contains much to torment, taunt and ultimately teach you. For to paraphrase the Bard, there is much more to this earth than meets the eye. Read and believe!


Tags : Troll: A Love Story [Johanna Sinisalo] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <div><B> A wily thriller-fantasy . . . Each discovery sounds like the voice of a storyteller reminding us of how the gods play with our fates. —<I>New York Times</I></B><BR><BR>Winner of the Finlandia Award,Johanna Sinisalo,Troll: A Love Story,Grove Press,0802141293,Fantasy fiction.,FICTION Literary,Fiction,Fiction - General,Literary,Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945),Fantasy fiction

Troll A Love Story Johanna Sinisalo 9780802141293 Books Reviews

Look again, if you missed it. Troll is also an exploration of gender politics. The entire troll story is a skillfully woven veil (parallel to the story of the woman downstairs) to say something very radical about heterosexual sex, love, marriage, the deep roots of sexism (that women's position is the same as the troll's, as not-quite-human) and last but not least ...it's about violent revolution.

I am not surprised that most people miss this point. Despite being "simple" in its style, easy to read, quick-moving and absorbing. It's a book that needs to be taught, and a book that teaches readers how to read, as it can be read on many different levels.
Yikes! Unpredictability is what makes me stay with a story.
Very interesting, original and different. I'm still thinking about it. I will probably read this author again if there are any other books of hers translated to English.
Who knows where the heart goes?
By definition, a troll is a supernatural creature from Scandinavian folklore that lives in caves or in mountains. It is stumpy, mishapen, and can be as big as a giant or a small as a dwarf. It has been known to abduct children. Trolls have made appearances in such literary works as BEOWULF, LORD OF THE RINGS and HARRY POTTER. With that in mind, you should be prepared for the unexpected in this novel by the Finnish author Johanna Sinisalo. You will not be disappointed. This writer has crafted a bizarre but strangely moving love story between Mikael, nicknamed Angel, a young Finnish photographer, and a troll whom he rescues from a pack of hoodlums one midnight as the young man staggers home from a night of drinking and unrequited lust for one Martes, who says he is only looking for "good conversation." Angel takes the troll in, nurses him back to health and starts down a path from which there is no return. With each passing day, Angel finds himself becoming more hopelessly attached to the troll with the juniper-berry smell-- whom he names Pessi-- and having to hide his new housemate from his friends and neighbors. As you would expect, a novel about a love affair between a man and a troll will not have a happy ending. Even so, I was not quite ready for the explosive finale.
Ms. Sinisalo's prose is both concise and evocative "I look him [Martes] in the eyes. His face wears a friendly, open, and understanding smile. He seems at once infinitely lovable and completely unknown. His eyes are computer icons, expressionless diagrams, with infinite wonders behind them, but only for the elect, those able to log on." The author raises questions about man's relationship with wild creatures-- how much we know or don't know about them and what they know about us. She seems to say something about the animalistic tendences that lie deeply hidden in the most civilized of us just waiting to be let loose.
Although on one level, TROLL is just a great story that you cannot stop reading, on another it asks questions about the very nature of us all.
Once upon a time not too long ago, in a faraway northland of pine, birch and pristine lake, there lived a blond angel of great beauty desired by many (but loved by none) until one day a strange creature of the forest--half-cat, half-ape, with glossy black fur and golden eyes--caught his eye and then his heart.

Parable, fable, erotic fairy-tale, Finnish fantasy writer, Johanna Sinisalo`s `Troll,` is all of these and more. A work beyond classification, it manages the near impossible to be a highly entertaining dramatic thriller and a great creative work all at once.

Angel--flaxen-haired Adonis--talented photographer wants those things just beyond his reach--namely the rather straighter, handsome Martes. Yet, Angel could have love elsewhere. Suitors abound. There`s Ecke, the nerdy bespectacled bookseller who swoons at the very thought of Angel. And then there`s Angel`s old flame, Dr. Spiderman, who regrets not having grabbed perfection when he had the chance. And even Angel`s Tagalog speaking neighbor, Palomita, who sees him as her savior. But nothing snags Angel`s vain and elusive heart until IT shows up behind a dumpster, threatened by local thugs. Upon seeing it, it`s love at first sight for Angel. "It`s the most beautiful thing I`ve ever seen, `he declares.

And so Pessi, cat-eyed and ape-faced, enters Angel`s glittery emptiness and never leaves. The next two hundred pages flash along like a driverless troika across the steppes. The story jumps between each of the characters` perspectives as they all move closer to Angel and the secret hidden in his apartment.

This inventive structure makes `Troll` a quick-paced and gripping read. Having the story fleshed out from all points of view gives an intimacy and immediacy to the tale. These narratives have an urgency and realness about them that lends the story its lifelike feel. They read like emails or text messages, appropriate for our tech-drenched times. Terse and vivid, they convey the drama`s bare bones while letting your imagination paint the rest. "But when I get home, drunk with happiness, the door`s ajar and Pessi`s gone."

Sandwiched between these snippets, Sinisalo wedges tidbits of troll-lore salvaged from a myriad of sources, the Internet, Finnish folk-lore, the Kalevala, Finnish classics like Vaino Inna`s `Unknown Soldier` and more. The effect of all this is as dazzling as it is dizzying. `Troll` reads as a singularly original piece of fiction.

The story itself starts as a spring and ends as a torrent. Secrets never last and Angel`s is no exception. From the beginning, you sense this tale will end badly for somebody(s, but you don`t know just how badly until it smacks you upside the head.

With its page-flipping drama and suspenseful conclusion, `Troll` is a fantastic ride, but what is Sinisalo trying to communicate here? The answers to this are as varied as they are endless. This is why `Troll` deserves the accolades it has received. The central question is whether this is truly a love story? `Is Angel in love with Pessi? Completely? Sexually as well? That`s a tough one to answer. Personally, I don`t think the work`s main theme to be bestiality. That would be too easy, too pedestrian. I think Sinisalo`s message is far more subtle and provocative.

Yes, Pessi fills the emptiness in Angel`s emotionally vacant life. But he could have love should he desire it. Ecke, Spiderman, even Palomita all stand before his altar ready to offer sacrifice. Angel just doesn`t want what is easy. Like us all, he craves the hard to get, the forbidden...Martes...the wild mystery of Pessi`s `juniper-berry smell...(that) overpowers my nostrils."

`Troll` offers up a lot of fascinating and equally disturbing questions for us humans. What happens when we, like Angel, cold shoulder our fellow humans and seek succor in other species? What are the consequences when we embrace the `wild?` Moreover, when we attempt to control that which is wild as does Angel with Pessi, or Palomita`s abusive husband with her, what are the consequences? And why has Pessi and fellow troll-mates shown up in human areas? Are we humans so prideful to think our actions against other life on this planet bear no consequence?

If your fancy is a well-paced, imaginative thriller full of the fantastical and yet all-too-real, then `Troll` is a must read. And afterwards, keep this treasure, for it contains much to torment, taunt and ultimately teach you. For to paraphrase the Bard, there is much more to this earth than meets the eye. Read and believe!