Angel, a young photographer, comes home from a night of carousing to find a group of drunken teenagers in the courtyard of his apartment building, ...
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Dec 10, 2008
David
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Jun 04, 2007
Trin
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A Finnish book, which is not something I ordinarily get to say. This novel was flawed, but overall I really loved it. It takes place in an alternate universe where trolls were discovered to be a real, living species in the early part of the 20th century. Mikael, a photographer, finds a troll cub who’s somehow stumbled into the city, and takes him in. Their relationship is…not something I can easily describe, but it’s more than a little disturbing, oddly alluring, and completely captivating. The
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Jul 20, 2007
_inbetween_
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For once, a synopsis, because I had never seen one (that actually said what Troll was about/happened in it): "Angel" (Mikael, gay photographer) takes in an abandonned Troll-puppy, which is described like a cat (believe me, I know, down to the litter), though Sinisalo lists good (fake) snippets how it is a recently discovered species of ape-cat (cp. the Okapi). Sinisalo uses real sources as well, most notably Pelli + Illusia (Angel with his head of blond curls so much like Illusia (a fa
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Jun 18, 2007
Sean
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Johanna Sinisalo is apparently well-known in Finland. It's too bad the only pieces of hers that we have in English are this book and a short story in the Dedalus Book of Finnish Fantasy (which I have yet to read). But if Troll is representative of her writing, I have high, high hopes for more of her work.
Troll plays with several kinds of eroticism and desire as we see the central story unfold: Angel, a gay photographer, rescues a young, injured troll from a band of teenage tormenters More...
Troll plays with several kinds of eroticism and desire as we see the central story unfold: Angel, a gay photographer, rescues a young, injured troll from a band of teenage tormenters More...
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Oct 31, 2011
Ryandake
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oh now here's a lovely one.
i was hooked by the first paragraph--a description of a young man flirting with another, wanting to hold hands and being subtly rejected. perfectly described--not overblown or sentimental, but with feeling. perfect.
and the rest of the story is like that, too. how a man falls for a troll. his efforts to care for the young, unwell troll. how his world begins to spin around the animal, and how it changes his life.
the ending is pitch-perfect t More...
i was hooked by the first paragraph--a description of a young man flirting with another, wanting to hold hands and being subtly rejected. perfectly described--not overblown or sentimental, but with feeling. perfect.
and the rest of the story is like that, too. how a man falls for a troll. his efforts to care for the young, unwell troll. how his world begins to spin around the animal, and how it changes his life.
the ending is pitch-perfect t More...
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Dec 08, 2010
Chris
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Finland is an interesting country. Land of a thousand lakes, highly technology-oriented, possessed of an impenetrable language not obviously related to anything else other than some of the Baltic tongues ... and also having a vibrant Science Fictional scene which at one time had extremely high-quality regular magazines ('Aikakone', 'Tahtivaelttaja') and produced the remarkable Johanna Sinisalo.
'Not before sundown' is the story of a young man - a gay photographer - who finds a feral creatur More...
'Not before sundown' is the story of a young man - a gay photographer - who finds a feral creatur More...
Oct 08, 2010
Ryn
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Jul 13, 2010
Cyn
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I had very mixed feelings about this book and actually would like to give it 3.5 stars but cannot quite justify giving it 4. I thought that the story itself was clever and I liked the interweaving of mythology and pseudo-scientific texts about but I get the feeling that perhaps the translation could have been better. There were a couple of times I read something and it fell flat but fell flat in a way that made me think something didn't come across the way it did in the native language printing
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Sep 27, 2009
Stephanie
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Troll: A Love Story, by Johanna Sinisalo (translated from Finnish), calls out for some classical literary interpretation: the woods, and the creatures that inhabit them, represent our darker, wilder, and altogether more sinful selves.
And so, Ms. Sinisalo, you have it. The young troll, Pessi, who somehow finds his way into downtown Helsinki, to be rescued from some teenage thugs by the beautiful Angel, awakens passions in Angel and -- indirectly -- all those around him, setting int More...
And so, Ms. Sinisalo, you have it. The young troll, Pessi, who somehow finds his way into downtown Helsinki, to be rescued from some teenage thugs by the beautiful Angel, awakens passions in Angel and -- indirectly -- all those around him, setting int More...
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May 07, 2009
Stephen
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The plot of this novel can be fairly easily summarized, but the Finnish author, Johanna Sinisalo, is playing with and trying to balance a fairly complex set of narrative tasks that are not so easily explained. The story concerns a young man, Angel, who rescues a young troll from a group of teenagers. Angel, whose real name is Mikael (get it? Michael the Angel?), hides the troll in his apartment and develops a peculiar erotic attachment to it . . . ah, interspecies love! But Angel is caught i
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Feb 27, 2011
Susan
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This story written from each characters individual points of view is charming weaving into it facts or theories about trolls with the character's own points of view on them.
While reading this book I found myself taken by thinking about various types of humans and each human's different purposes and desires in life. This book is written with A LOT of sexual references and so I think about this book talking about 'man's' (and I use that to mean humans) need to find love or sexual gratif More...
While reading this book I found myself taken by thinking about various types of humans and each human's different purposes and desires in life. This book is written with A LOT of sexual references and so I think about this book talking about 'man's' (and I use that to mean humans) need to find love or sexual gratif More...
Jan 25, 2011
Tze-Wen
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This novel, its building blocks consisting of short, one to three page long chapters, conjures up a sensation of watching an old black and white movie with quivering, snapshot-style scenes. Despite this rather nostalgic reference, Sinisalo’s writing style has in fact a refreshingly modern feel; when I started reading the book, I had no idea who Angel was, or Martti for that matter. Only a few “chapters” later, when he shows up at neighbor Palomita’s door, did I understand Angel was a 30-somethin
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Jun 22, 2010
Marita
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Why in the world did they not keep the British name "Not Before Sundown"? This American name makes this book sound like a dumb romance book meant for teenagers which this one is NOT. I really would have loved to read this in my original language, but at least they kept the familiar to us Finns Reino Helismaa song lyrics of the 1949 song that was the inspiration for this story. I had to google the Finnish site to find out if she was really using all those sources or made them up. They s
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Feb 05, 2009
Troll won the Finlandia Prize for the best novel published in Finland, and has garnered worldwide attention. Sinisalo draws upon Finnish folklore to create a sharp modern novel that explores the wild beast that lurks in each of us. The Washington Post reminds us, "[T]he runty dark creatures of our fairy tales are little more, symbolically speaking, than surrogates for our own darker urges." Though Pessi is the only truly feral creature, Angel and his friends all reveal their baser natu
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Aug 01, 2007
Lori
rated it:
Truly one of the strangest books I've ever read. It doesn't fit neatly in any one genre, but straddles many: literary fiction, romance, fantasy.
It's unusual for me to find something that feels so fresh and new. And incredibly weird.
I knew virtually nothing going in (a book sale bargain based on the cover), and it was better for it. So read it and then we'll talk.
It's unusual for me to find something that feels so fresh and new. And incredibly weird.
I knew virtually nothing going in (a book sale bargain based on the cover), and it was better for it. So read it and then we'll talk.
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Oct 19, 2011
Gabe
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I got this from my public library, and this copy contains a note from a previous reader: "Book is excellent. Sorta wierd - but it's a can't put down kind of book. Kind of sad. Wierd! Read it to your own confusion."
I wasn't confused, but I agree that it's weird, a "weird" that, for many, might seem commonplace at first. It's kind of magic realism, but not really, in that there's no "magic" in it. Instead Sinisalo constructs a tale in which all our folklor More...
I wasn't confused, but I agree that it's weird, a "weird" that, for many, might seem commonplace at first. It's kind of magic realism, but not really, in that there's no "magic" in it. Instead Sinisalo constructs a tale in which all our folklor More...
Jun 23, 2009
Erin
rated it:
Well, maybe the last book I read about naked ghosts wasn't quite as kinky as this novel about a man who falls in lust with a troll that he finds by a dumpster outside his apartment.
Several points of view are used to tell this story, and one of the most interesting voices is the woman who lives directly below "Angel"- the man who owns the troll. She happens to be a mail order bride who is stuck in an abusive sexual relation with the older gentleman who purchased her. In ma More...
Several points of view are used to tell this story, and one of the most interesting voices is the woman who lives directly below "Angel"- the man who owns the troll. She happens to be a mail order bride who is stuck in an abusive sexual relation with the older gentleman who purchased her. In ma More...
Apr 26, 2010
Julie
rated it:
Wow. This was not at all what I was expecting. I'm not sure what I was expecting at first. Though at one point, I'd gotten a glimpse inside the book and it looked like poetry. I thought I was going to be reading an English translation of a Finnish poem. Not at all my usual fare!
But it's nothing like that at all. It's very readable to my American brain. And it's not chock full of poetry.
The main character takes in a young wild troll. The troll is sick and first needs to b More...
But it's nothing like that at all. It's very readable to my American brain. And it's not chock full of poetry.
The main character takes in a young wild troll. The troll is sick and first needs to b More...
Jul 03, 2011
John
rated it:
“Troll: A Love Story” by Johanna Sinisalo (or “Not Before Sundown” to give it its original title) is set in Tampere, a major southern city in contemporary Finland. Despite the modern setting, this novel takes place in a world in which the troll (Felipithecus trollius) is a species that really does exist. Even so, they are semi-mythical creatures: sightings are very rare, descriptions of and stories about them often seem like tall tales, and no one knows much about them.
Commercial pho More...
Commercial pho More...
Jul 29, 2009
Jennifer
rated it:
This book was infinitely interesting. The story was somewhat choppy - snippets of articles, folk stories, and essay excerpts are interspersed with the actual story and no less than five characters take turns telling said story. Despite this, I never felt the momentum of the story suffered in any way.
The story is of a Finnish man who finds a young, abandoned troll outside his apartment building. Depsite the laws against harboring wild animals, he takes it in and nurses it to health, More...
The story is of a Finnish man who finds a young, abandoned troll outside his apartment building. Depsite the laws against harboring wild animals, he takes it in and nurses it to health, More...
Feb 18, 2011
Elisabeth
rated it:
What to call this book? Gay, fantasy, Nordic literature? Well, whatever it is, it's simple and wonderful. Combining myth with gay life in Finland, this writer creates a whole new world within ours in a short time. Pessi the troll remains a mystery for most of the book, but through the eyes of Mikael the reader starts to feel the same fascination and obsession for this animal. Even, if it can really be called an animal? Martes, Dr. Spiderman and poor Ecke and Palomita represent the "outsider
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Aug 07, 2011
Amanda
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Mikael (aka Angel) has just broken up with his boyfriend to date a new guy, but the new guy, conflicted about his sexuality, rejects him the night they go out. Mikael returns home, drunk and dejected, to find a baby troll outside his apartment building. He takes the troll in and begins to care for it as if it was a pet, and an unusual relationship develops between them.
This was one of the most bizarre stories I’ve read in a very, very long time. It takes place in a world nearly identic More...
This was one of the most bizarre stories I’ve read in a very, very long time. It takes place in a world nearly identic More...
Jul 25, 2011
Gabby
rated it:
This is a very intriguing book. I keep coming back to thinking about it, unable to form an opinion. I'm sure I didn't like it yet I devoured it in one afternoon. I was fooled by the author's description of the mystical creatures to such an extent that I actually googled the matter to see if they weren't real. That said, the book is a good one for dreamers and for those who like to believe for a second that there are indeed new worlds to be explored and new fascinating things to be encountered. B
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Aug 18, 2009
BlackTar
rated it:
i like it but i didn't like it and i think i like it cause i didn't like it. it makes me feel creepy and uncomfortable. the finnish photographer protagonist likes the little troll a little too much. and everyone loves someone else without really seeing who they are at all. my favorite is the desperately lonely and unhappy, filipino mail order bride. she embarasses me and makes me feel sympathy for her all at once. interweaving of storyline with text of made up and actual finnish text/stories? is
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Nov 10, 2009
FicusFan
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May 01, 2008
Ryes
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Troll is deep read and challenges you to rethink preconceptions. Sinisalo's style is a bit different from what I've been reading recently. Each chapter is narrated by one of the characters; surprisingly, none of the chapters are narrated by the troll. In between the chapters of narration are articles and passages concerning trolls, troll history and recent events from websites, books and encyclopedias. Sinisalo writes in the present tense, which is not that unusual, but her prose is direct and s
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Dec 28, 2007
Constanze
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Not sure about this one. Loved the idea, didn't care for the execution at all. It was fragmented to the point of distraction, PoV switches and excerpts from (fictional) sources continually throwing me out of the narrative. (I do have to say that the fictional sources made up the more interesting parts of the book, though.) Characterisation was flat and fairly clichéd, and as someone else mentioned, all the first-person voices sounded the same. My emotional reaction to the characters ranged from
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Jul 23, 2007
Res
rated it:
The one where trolls are discovered in 1907 to be real animals, and in the present day, photographer Mikael takes in an injured troll cub.
I'm glad I read this -- it was certainly worth the couple of hours I devoted to it -- but it wasn't really excellent.
My chief problem was that all the voices in the first-person sections sounded the same. (This may be the fault of the translation.)
I felt affection for Ecke and a sort of vague pity for Palomita, and of cours More...
I'm glad I read this -- it was certainly worth the couple of hours I devoted to it -- but it wasn't really excellent.
My chief problem was that all the voices in the first-person sections sounded the same. (This may be the fault of the translation.)
I felt affection for Ecke and a sort of vague pity for Palomita, and of cours More...
Jun 07, 2007
Sarah
rated it:
Ennen päivänlaskua ei voi is a Finish urban fantasy retelling of the fairy and the troll, where the "fairy" in this case is a gay photographer specializing in advertising. His current gig is to help create an advertising campaign for "Stalker" Jeans and he chooses the perfect model for them, a young troll he's named Pessi.
Not Before Sundown (aka Troll: A Love Story in later translations) isn't a typical fantasy. There aren't lengthy sections of description or disc More...
Not Before Sundown (aka Troll: A Love Story in later translations) isn't a typical fantasy. There aren't lengthy sections of description or disc More...
Aug 06, 2007
Punk
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Urban Fantasy. Trolls have long been a part of Finnish folklore, but it wasn't until 1907 that they were officially discovered and classified as a mammal. A cross between a primate and a cat, they are secretive and impossible to catch, but lately they've been leaving the woods and venturing closer and closer to the cities.
On his way home from a date, Angel comes across a group of kids tormenting something in the shadows. It's a troll cub, weak and injured, and Angel takes it to his More...
On his way home from a date, Angel comes across a group of kids tormenting something in the shadows. It's a troll cub, weak and injured, and Angel takes it to his More...
