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November 21, 2005

Troll Discussion

Hey, gang. I hope you enjoyed this little book. The first time I read Troll: A Love Story by Johanna Sinisalo through, I thought it was odd, but enjoyable. Now that I have read it again, I still think of it as odd, but enjoyable. Can it be that I am so brainwashed by the DeLint, Ottowa-happy neo-fairie tale that getting into this one is just awkward. Perhaps. But I am more interested in what you all think.

In the spirit of a short work week, I am going to throw a couple of general questions your way and see what happens. Feel free to get your hands dirty or ask more clarifying questions.

How does this "cross-over" homoerotic fairy tale work for you? Is the writer trying too hard?
In general, do you think that this is a credible addition to the DeLint-esq genre?
What can we do to keep the NRA out of the Troll Kingdom?

That should start us off well.

Tripp

comments

Hi!

This short "review" of the book didn't tell that the book is Finnish.

You maybe should understand that here in Finland we have a system where everybody, by the time they're about 4-5 yrs old, are looked upon by the family or village, whether he/she had potential to become a withc.

If one is a witch, he/she has easier time to get to know trolls and indeed get deeper into their world.

There's nothing awkward about this situation at all!

Regards,

marjatta

First I have to admit that I know next to nothing about Finland. I've never read the Kalevala or anything, so I'm sure I missed some connections. I think the book is great. I did not get the impression at all that Sinisalo was trying too hard. It does carry the flavor of a deLint story. It's basically an alternate reality story, and she did a good job maintaining it with the pseudo-citations.

I especially liked the narrative structure. By switching back and forth among first-person perspectives, it gave the story a "primary-source" feel, without the burden of an omniscient third party trying to connect the dots.

And I am all for combatting sprawl.

I have to admit that I haven't been near a bookstore in months (gasp!) and have not yet gotten a copy of this one. It looks like a good one, so I'm still planning on reading it one of these days.