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Finland: Cultural perspectives
218p green hardback, a very good copy from a Cambridge college library, sparse stamps internally, excellent condition, plastic adhesive film with sharp edges, text clean, seemingly unopened, boards stiff, binding tight
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1989
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May 9, 2025
This is a non-fiction book summarising the development of Finnish culture from the Neolithic period, around 7,500 B.C., until the end of the 1980s, by Finnish writer Veikko Kallio. After a quick chapter on the Middle Ages, Kallio spends a lot of time covering the spread of various types of Christianity before tackling rationalism and the enlightenment. He devotes a whole third of his book to Finland’s place as an autonomous grand duchy within the Russian Empire, as this was the period in which the concepts of Finnishness developed, when Lönnrot compiled the national epic Kalevala and artists like the composer Sibelius, the poet Runeberg and the painter Gallen-Kallela flourished. Finally he examines Finland as an independent country from 1917, through the civil war, the Second World War, the Olympics in 1952, the first Miss Universe Armi Kuusela, mid-century writers like Väinö Linna and Mika Waltari, and architects like Alvar Aalto.
I already know Finnish history fairly well, but I read this book for the cultural side of things. Of course politics is unavoidable, as it helps to shape culture, but Kallio keeps it on the sidelines as he relates his narrative. At only 215 pages, it’s a quick read, and I didn’t expect a lot of detail. But I was surprised that he leaves out the introduction of the welfare state, a safety net that has helped shape modern society; the development of Finnish cinema, particularly modern directors like Mika Kaurismäki; and popular fictional characters like the Moomins and their creator Tove Jansson. Despite these shortcomings, I liked it, because I picked up some bits and pieces I didn’t know before. Although the text is nearly four decades old, it’s still a good introduction to many of the major figures in Finnish history.
I already know Finnish history fairly well, but I read this book for the cultural side of things. Of course politics is unavoidable, as it helps to shape culture, but Kallio keeps it on the sidelines as he relates his narrative. At only 215 pages, it’s a quick read, and I didn’t expect a lot of detail. But I was surprised that he leaves out the introduction of the welfare state, a safety net that has helped shape modern society; the development of Finnish cinema, particularly modern directors like Mika Kaurismäki; and popular fictional characters like the Moomins and their creator Tove Jansson. Despite these shortcomings, I liked it, because I picked up some bits and pieces I didn’t know before. Although the text is nearly four decades old, it’s still a good introduction to many of the major figures in Finnish history.
Displaying 1 of 1 review