MY CHILDHOOD

by Toivo Pekkanen ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 15, 1966

There are autobiographies dealing with early youth which include the most painful times made endurable because of a deceptive simplicity of language and a cunning selection of events. Youth survived these falls because of innocence; what permits a reader to withstand pain and travail is the distance which comes via art. Able to overcome time yet give his past perspective was Pekkanen, the prolific Finnish novelist, playwright and short story writer who died in 1957. The beauty of this book, as with its genre, is that in no other way but the most forceful rendering could something so complex as childhood be made so simple and instructive. A boy plays the game of dying--cavorts in the sea with his father--discovers he is poor enough to beg--learns to work--learns to read--discovers death and goes out himself into a world where Reds and Whites battle over the future of the young Finnish nation. A line of action--to discover how he became himself--runs clear as a cold, northern stream, and is as refreshing.

Pub Date: Nov. 15, 1966

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Univ. of Wisconsin

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1966

Categories: NONFICTION