Seven Brothers [Perfect Paperback]

Aleksis Kivi (Author), Borje Vahamaki (Editor), Richard Impola (translator) (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2005

Along with The Kalevala, Aleksis Kivi's Seven Brothers is Finland's most celebrated literary treasure. It remains the greatest Finnish novel of all time, and is a classic among the classics in Finnish literature. 280 pages ISBN 0-9737165-2-5

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, Finnish (translation) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Perfect Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: Aspasia Books; Aspasia Classics of Finnish Literature edition (August 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0973716525
• ISBN-13: 978-0973716528
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,590,566 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This book defines Finnish character, January 29, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Seven Brothers (Paperback)

I read this classic in the original Finnish. I love the stories told by Aapo. Kivi uses great description throughout the novel to help the reader feel as if he is there.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the Aspasia Book's blurb on Seven Brothers..., August 6, 2008

By 

Kiwi (Mississauga, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Seven Brothers (Paperback)

Along with The Kalevala, Aleksis Kivi's Seven Brothers is Finland's most celebrated literary treasure. The crowning accomplishment of Finland's first literary genius, Seven Brothers remains "the greatest Finnish novel of all time", the classic among the classics in Finnish literature.

Published in 1870, in the author's 36th year and two years before his untimely death, Seven Brothers laid the foundation for what Kai Laitinen later called "The Great Tradition in Finnish Prose". This tradition is characterized by realism, humor, respect for the common people, and depiction of nature as both friend and foe.

Received at the time of publication by uncomprehending arbiters of literary taste, who still delighted in romantic approaches to literature, Seven Brothers fared poorly in early reviews. Posterity, however, has resurrected the reputation of Aleksis Kivi, and critics, scholars, and readers at large continue to praise the virtues of this trail-blazing, exceedingly rich novel.

Richard Impola's superb English translation captures the brothers' rustic milieu and the exceptional dynamics of Kivi's creative style and artistic conception.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fine Translation, July 23, 2006

By 

Michael Smith - See all my reviews

This review is from: Seven Brothers (Paperback)

This rollicking translation of Kivi's "Seven Brothers" by Richard Impola finally makes this masterpiece of Finnish literature accessible to English readers. Impola manages to capture both the epic grandeur and humor of the Finnish text, and faithfully preserves the character of each vignette or escapade in which the brothers find themselves. This reviewer feels that Impola does a better job than the previous translator, Alex Mason, whose stilted prose is something of a barrier to the modern reader.