Väinö Linna ( pronunciation (help·info)) (December 20, 1920 – April 21, 1992) was one of the most influential Finnish authors of the 20th century. He shot to immediate literary fame with his third novel, Tuntematon sotilas (The Unknown Soldier, published in 1954), and consolidated his position with the trilogy Täällä Pohjantähden alla (Under the North Star, published in 1959 – 1963 and translated into English by Richard Impola).
Väinö Linna was b...
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Väinö Linna ( pronunciation (help·info)) (December 20, 1920 – April 21, 1992) was one of the most influential Finnish authors of the 20th century. He shot to immediate literary fame with his third novel, Tuntematon sotilas (The Unknown Soldier, published in 1954), and consolidated his position with the trilogy Täällä Pohjantähden alla (Under the North Star, published in 1959 – 1963 and translated into English by Richard Impola).
Väinö Linna was born in Urjala, Pirkanmaa region in Western Finland. He was the seventh child of Viktor (Vihtori) Linna (1874–1927) and Johanna Maria (Maija) Linna (1888–1972). However, Linna's father, a slaughterman, died when Väinö Linna was only eight years old. Thus his mother had to support the entire family by working at a nearby manor. Despite his background, Linna's interest in literature began early on. As a child, Linna loved adventure novels which he borrowed from the local library. The author's education was, however, limited to six years at a...
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