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Mika Waltari

Born

in Helsinki, Finland

September 19, 1908

Died

August 08, 1979

Genre

Historical Fiction, Contemporary, Crime

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Mika Toimi Waltari was a Finnish historical novelist, best known for his magnum opus The Egyptian.
Waltari was born in Helsinki and lost his father, a Lutheran pastor, at the age of five. As a boy, he witnessed the Finnish Civil War in Helsinki. Later he enrolled in the University of Helsinki as a theology student, according to his mother's wishes, but soon abandoned theology in favour of philosophy, aesthetics and literature, graduating in 1929. While studying, he contributed to various magazines and wrote poetry and stories, getting his first book published in 1925. In 1927 he went to Paris where he wrote his first major novel Suuri illusioni ('The Grand Illusion'), a story of bohemian life. In terms of style, the novel is considered to be Mika Toimi Waltari was a Finnish historical novelist, best known for his magnum opus The Egyptian.
Waltari was born in Helsinki and lost his father, a Lutheran pastor, at the age of five. As a boy, he witnessed the Finnish Civil War in Helsinki. Later he enrolled in the University of Helsinki as a theology student, according to his mother's wishes, but soon abandoned theology in favour of philosophy, aesthetics and literature, graduating in 1929. While studying, he contributed to various magazines and wrote poetry and stories, getting his first book published in 1925. In 1927 he went to Paris where he wrote his first major novel Suuri illusioni ('The Grand Illusion'), a story of bohemian life. In terms of style, the novel is considered to be the Finnish equivalent to the works of the American writers of the Lost Generation. (In Waltari's historical novel The Adventurer, taking place in the 16th century, the hero is a Finn who goes to Paris during his twenties and lives there a rather bohemian life). Waltari also was, for a while, a member of the liberal literary movement Tulenkantajat, though his political and social views later turned conservative. He was married in 1931 and had a daughter, Satu, who also became a writer.

Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, Waltari worked hectically as a journalist and critic, writing for a number of newspapers and magazines and travelling widely in Europe. He directed the magazine Suomen Kuvalehti. At the same time, he kept writing books in many genres, moving easily from one literary field to another. He had a very busy schedule and strict work ethic. It has been claimed that he also suffered from insomnia and depression, sometimes to the extent of needing hospital treatment. He participated, and often succeeded, in literary competitions to prove the quality of his work to critics. One of these competitions gave rise to one of his most popular characters, Inspector Palmu, a gruff detective of the Helsinki police department, who starred in three mystery novels, all of which were filmed (a fourth one was made without Waltari involved). Waltari also scripted the popular cartoon Kieku ja Kaiku and wrote Aiotko kirjailijaksi, a guidebook for aspiring writers that influenced many younger writers such as Kalle Päätalo.
During the Winter War (1939–1940) and the Continuation War (1941–1944), Waltari worked in the government information center, now also placing his literary skills at the service of political propaganda. 1945 saw the publication of Waltari's first and most successful historical novel, The Egyptian. Its theme of the corruption of humanist values in a materialist world seemed curiously topical in the aftermath of World War II, and the book became an international bestseller, serving as the basis of the 1954 Hollywood movie of the same name. Waltari wrote seven more historical novels, placed in various ancient cultures, among which The Dark Angel, set during the Fall of Constantinople in 1453 is probably the best. In these novels, he gave powerful expression to his fundamental pessimism and also, in two novels set in the Roman Empire, to his Christian conviction. After the war, he also wrote several novellas, showing particular mastery in this genre. He became a member of the Finnish Academy in 1957 and received an honorary doctorate at the University of Turku in 1970.

Waltari was one of the most prolific Finnish writers. He wrote at least 29 novels, 15 novellas, 6 collections of stories or fairy-tales, 6 collections of poetry and 26 plays, as well as screenplays, radioplays, non-fiction, translations, and hundreds of reviews and articles. He is also the internationally best-known Finnish writer, and his works have been translated into more than 40 languages. ...more

Combine Editions
Mika Waltari’s books

Average rating: 4.08 · 47,568 ratings · 2,800 reviews · 223 distinct works • Similar authors

	سینوهه by Mika Waltari, فرزام حبیبی اصفهانی (Translator) 4.21 avg rating — 24,530 ratings — published 1945 — 292 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Egipcjanin Sinuhe, tom 1 4.20 avg rating — 3,211 ratings — published 1945 — 24 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Dark Angel 4.04 avg rating — 2,273 ratings — published 1952 — 85 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Etruscan by Mika Waltari, Lily Leino (translator) 3.96 avg rating — 2,040 ratings — published 1955 — 89 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Egipcjanin Sinuhe, tom 2 4.32 avg rating — 1,673 ratings — published 1945 — 19 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Adventurer by Mika Waltari, Naomi Walford (Translator) 4.12 avg rating — 1,460 ratings — published 1948 — 51 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Suuri illusioni 3.57 avg rating — 1,409 ratings — published 1928 — 11 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Roman 4.09 avg rating — 1,127 ratings — published 1964 — 64 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Secret of the Kingdom 4.05 avg rating — 1,099 ratings — published 1959 — 60 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Wanderer by Mika Waltari, Naomi Walford (Translator) 4.24 avg rating — 993 ratings — published 1949 — 45 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Mika Waltari…

Series by Mika Waltari

Sinuhe egyptiläinen (2 books)
by

Mika Waltari

4.21 avg rating — 29,412 ratings

Johannes Angelos (2 books)
by

Mika Waltari

3.99 avg rating — 2,702 ratings

Mikael (2 books)
by

Mika Waltari,

Naomi Walford (Translator)

4.17 avg rating — 2,453 ratings

The Manilianus Duology (2 books)
by

Mika Waltari

4.06 avg rating — 2,277 ratings

Komisario Palmu (3 books)
by

Mika Waltari

3.66 avg rating — 2,020 ratings

More series by Mika Waltari…

Quotes by Mika Waltari (?)

“Even were the time to come when there would be neither poor nor rich, yet there will always be wise and stupid, sly and simple, for so there have ever been and ever will be. The strong man sets his foot on the neck of the weakling; the cunning man runs off with the simpleton's purse and sets the dunce to work for him. Man is a crooked dealer and even his virtue is imperfect. Only he who lies down never to rise again is wholly good.”
― Mika Waltari, سینوهه

30 likes

“I, SINUHE, the son of Senmut and of his wife Kipa, write this. I do not write it to the glory of the gods in the land of Kem, for I am weary of gods, nor to the glory of the Pharaohs, for I am weary of their deeds. I write neither from fear nor from any hope of the future but for myself alone. During my life I have seen, known, and lost too much to be the prey of vain dread; and, as for the hope of immortality, I am as weary of that as I am of gods and kings. For my own sake only I write this; and herein I differ from all other writers, past and to come.”
― Mika Waltari, سینوهه

tags: fiction, mika-waltari, sinuhe, sinuhe-egyptiläinen, the-egyptian

26 likes

“Tuhat kirjaa luettuaan ihminen alkaa aavistaa masentavan totuuden. Kymmenentuhatta kirjaa tekee hänet surulliseksi”
― Mika Waltari

20 likes

See all Mika Waltari's quotes »

Polls

June 2014 Contemporary Classic -

Which book would you like to read for our June 2014 Contemporary Classic Group Read?

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

64 votes, 23.7%

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

39 votes, 14.4%

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

35 votes, 13.0%

Watership Down by Richard Adams

26 votes, 9.6%

The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers

16 votes, 5.9%

Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin

14 votes, 5.2%

The Collector by John Fowles

12 votes, 4.4%

The Man Who Was Thursday by G.K. Chesterton

10 votes, 3.7%

The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien

10 votes, 3.7%

The Sea Wolf by Jack London

8 votes, 3.0%

Twelve Angry Men by Reginald Rose

8 votes, 3.0%

I, Claudius by Robert Graves

8 votes, 3.0%

The Egyptian by Mika Waltari

5 votes, 1.9%

Titus Groan by Mervyn Peake

5 votes, 1.9%

Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow

4 votes, 1.5%

Tobacco Road by Erskine Caldwell

3 votes, 1.1%

Zuleika Dobson by Max Beerbohm

3 votes, 1.1%

270 total votes

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Mika Waltari’s Followers (622)

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Mika Waltari

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