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Kalevala Guide
The book will provide you with the basics of the Kalevala, in a nutshell – what you need to know about the most widely translated work of Finnish literature? How does the Kalevala relate to other epics of the world? A synopsis of the poems and an introduction to the main characters as well as to the main themes of the epic are included. The book will give you the facts about the work of Elias Lönnrot, and explain the Kalevala metre. It will give you insight to the relationship between the Kalevala and the oral singing culture, on which the Kalevala is based. Kalevala-inspired music, art, literature and drama are introduced. The book is illustrated.
- GenresNonfiction
127 pages, Paperback
First published June 2, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 6, 2013
This was quite a nice little guide, let me tell you how I came to buy it;
Strange foreign tourist who cannot speak the language walks into a major book-store trying to find a book... (That is me, Helsinki and the akademic book-store)
Numerous people kindly try very hard to help her, but are defeated by her lack of Finnish. Finally she finds her way to the basement, where a lovely young man manages to find what she wants.
What I wanted, in my first week in Finland, was an English copy of Kalevala, without which, I was sure, I would never get a handle on the art of Finland.
When the book store assistant found the the book for me, I mentioned that I knew nothing about it, had never heard of it until a couple of days before, and he suggested this guide as a companion book. I nearly baulked at the price which was twice as expensive as the actual Kalevala, and about a tenth the size. I bought it however.
So as for the review; It is a fast read and I think it would be most valuable to someone coming to the Kalevala with no symbolic or mythological background. It would be very useful for someone who was reviewing, or writing about the Kalevala. Also useful to someone with no knowledge of, or background in, Finnish culture.
There is a breakdown of the characters, the plot themes, the world-view and a bit of the background and history of the Kaelvala. I would have done all right without this guide to be honest. The introduction and the background in the actual Kalevala were more extensive than this guide. I have a pretty decent basic knowledge of mythic and symbolic themes (even if I say so myself) and a lot of the Kalevala characters and themes are really nice and pleasant to understand. It was a nice introduction however and I am glad I bought it.
Strange foreign tourist who cannot speak the language walks into a major book-store trying to find a book... (That is me, Helsinki and the akademic book-store)
Numerous people kindly try very hard to help her, but are defeated by her lack of Finnish. Finally she finds her way to the basement, where a lovely young man manages to find what she wants.
What I wanted, in my first week in Finland, was an English copy of Kalevala, without which, I was sure, I would never get a handle on the art of Finland.
When the book store assistant found the the book for me, I mentioned that I knew nothing about it, had never heard of it until a couple of days before, and he suggested this guide as a companion book. I nearly baulked at the price which was twice as expensive as the actual Kalevala, and about a tenth the size. I bought it however.
So as for the review; It is a fast read and I think it would be most valuable to someone coming to the Kalevala with no symbolic or mythological background. It would be very useful for someone who was reviewing, or writing about the Kalevala. Also useful to someone with no knowledge of, or background in, Finnish culture.
There is a breakdown of the characters, the plot themes, the world-view and a bit of the background and history of the Kaelvala. I would have done all right without this guide to be honest. The introduction and the background in the actual Kalevala were more extensive than this guide. I have a pretty decent basic knowledge of mythic and symbolic themes (even if I say so myself) and a lot of the Kalevala characters and themes are really nice and pleasant to understand. It was a nice introduction however and I am glad I bought it.
July 27, 2017
This is best suited to folks who want an overview of the Kalevala rather than something super in-depth--and for that purpose, it's really well done; the illustrations are well-chosen, and there's a lot of good suggestions for further reading in English at the end.
July 16, 2016
This was perfect for what we were looking for - an overview of the Kalevala, before diving into the details. It is not our favourite genre to read, so having the plot, characters and themes given to us in bold, was the foundation we feel we need to begin to understand Finnish references to their national epic.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews