Gangbare naam: Vartio, Marja-Liisa
Geboortedatum: 1924-09-11
Overlijdensdatum: 1966-06-17
Graflocatie: Talvisalo Cemetery, Savonlinna, Finland
Geslacht: female
Nationaliteit: Finland
Geboorteplaats: Sääminki, Finland
Plaats van overlijden: Savonlinna, Finland
Woonplaatsen: Sääminki (syntymäpaikka)
Savonlinna
Opleiding: University of Helsinki
Beroepen: novelist
poet
diarist
Relaties: Haavikko, Paavo (spouse)
Korte biografie: Marja-Liisa Vartio, née Sairanen, was born in Sääminki, Finland, to parents who divorced a few months before she was born. She went to high school in Nurmijärven and studied literature, art history, and philosophy at the University of Helsinki, graduating with a master's degree in 1950. During her freshman year in 1945, she married Valter Vartion, with whom she adopted a daughter before the marriage ended in 1955. That year, she remarried to the writer Paavo Haavikko, with whom she had two children. She began her literary career in the early 1950s as a poet, but after publishing a few collections, she turned to prose. She is considered an innovator of the Finnish novel, often using folk literature as inspiration. Her first novel, Se on sitten kevät (It Is Then the Spring) was published in 1957, and was followed by several more. She also wrote short stories; many of her poems and short stories have appeared in anthologies. She died in 1966 at age 41 following a high fever that led to a coma. Her last novel Hänen olivat linnut (The Parson's Widow), was published posthumously in 1967. She kept a diary that was published, together with her letters, in three volumes in the 1990s, edited by her daughter Anna-Liisa Haavikko.

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Männer wie Männer, Frauen wie Frauen

Die Frau auf dem Cover zeigt deutlich, dass das Buch in den fünfziger Jahren spielt. Wir sind in einem Dorf irgendwo in Finnland. Leena ist 18 Jahre alt und die ältere Tochter einer Bauersfamilie. Sie verguckt sich in einen viel älteren Straßenarbeiter. Der ist verheiratet und hat Kinder. Was zieht sie zu ihm hin? Verliebtheit ist es nicht, eher die Neugier auf das Leben. Dann ist sie schwanger. Der Vater reagiert so drastisch, wie es in jener Zeit üblich war, er wirft sie raus. Leena will nicht, dass der Vater des Babys sich scheiden lässt. Sie nimmt eine Stelle in der Stadt an. Dann wird das Kind geboren.
Das Ende der Geschichte bleibt offen. Was passiert nach der Geburt des Kindes? Wie verläuft Leenas Leben weiter?
Der Erzählstil ist gewöhnungsbedürftig, was vielleicht daran liegt, dass das Buch bereits 1959 veröffentlich wurde. Die Werte sind zu jener Zeit andere als heute, die Moralvorstellungen viel enger. Jüngere Menschen werden deshalb die Handlung merkwürdig finden.
Die Personen sind gut beschrieben. Nur die Familienmitglieder haben Namen, dadurch wird es etwas unpersönlich.
Es ist ein ruhiges und poetisches Buch, das mir aber gut gefallen hat.… (meer)

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buecherwurm1310 | Jul 29, 2020 |

Kaikki naiset näkevät unia door Marja-Liisa Vartio

Kirjan lukeminen oli hidasta ja olin useampaan otteeseen jättää kesken. Rouva Pyy on todella ärsyttävä ja rasittava henkilö, joka on äärimmäisen turhautunut elämäänsä ja syyttää siitä kaikkia muita paitsi itseään. Keittiöpsykologin ymmärrykselläni hän kärsii myös vainoharhaisuudesta, joka jopa vaatisi hoitoa. Valitettavasti hänen lopulta kohtaamansa psykiatri vaikuttaa, ainakin nykyajan kriteereillä, melkoiselta puoskarilta. Romaanin tarina vaikuttaa vanhentuneelta, koska yhteiskunta ja naisen asema ovat muuttuneet niin paljon. Kaikki naiset näkevät unia on ehkä lukeminen arvoinen jonkinlaisena ajankuvana.… (meer)

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sannamarjaana | Sep 10, 2017 |

The Parson's Widow door Marja-Liisa Vartio

This book by Finnish author [[Marja-Liisa Vartio]] was not easy to love, but in the end I think it's a solid contribution to Scandinavian literature. The novel explores a few people in a rural area of Finland and is probably set somewhere in the first half of the 20th century. The narrative centers around the parson's widow, Adele, and her maid, Alma. The other main characters are Adele's sisters' in law - Elsa and Teodolinda - and their husbands. Adele and Alma are both hard to like. Adele is whining and a bit mentally unhinged; Alma thinks everyone is out to get her and feels under-appreciated. The two women replay the same conversations over and over, fussing about the details, but actually revealing some important events. There is a lot going on under the surface of this quiet town: family inheritance squabbles, drug abuse, infidelity, and rape. It's all told in the quiet-on-the-surface manner that I've come to expect from Scandinavian literature.

I appreciated this book and may try reading it again some day, but I had a hard time connecting to it. The characters are intentionally hard people to like and the book dwells in dialogue so the reader only gets the characters' perspectives which makes it hard to escape their annoying habits and perceptions. I'm glad I read it though and think it deserves to be more widely read. There are interesting themes and it has a creative way of exploring the characters.… (meer)

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japaul22 | 1 andere bespreking | Mar 25, 2016 |

The Parson's Widow door Marja-liisa Vartio

This novel is set in a small Finnish village in the early 20th century. Most of the story consists of two women, the older Adele (the parson's widow) and her younger maid Alma arguing. Each has a different recollection of the past, sometimes of minor details (the color of an apron) but also about the major events of their lives, the lives of their relatives, and the lives of their fellow villagers. Since the two often disagree with each other, we basically have a novel with two unreliable narrators telling the story as an argumentative conversation.

There is a lot of humor in this book. One of the recurring disagreements between the women is how to care for the extensive stuffed bird collection left to Adele by her husband--what is the best way to dust a stuffed owl? Despite these injections of humor, the novel nevertheless has serious themes. The Parson's family is in constant conflict with Adele, over property ownership and other issues. Adele has addiction issues. Alma is not entirely stable either. There are issues of sexual abuse and class issues. There is also the question of the Parson's sanity and deteriorating reputation in the years before his death. (In fact the novel opens with a fire in the parsonage several years before the parson's death, when he is running around yelling for Adele to "save the birds", as others are trying to save the church records.)

This is considered the best novel of respected Finnish writer Vartio. I highly recommend it.… (meer)

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arubabookwoman | 1 andere bespreking | Dec 19, 2012 |

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