Observations of Life 05: The Writer; But He Lives On After All; Wrong

Pietari PäivärintaProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.1

Word count: 180K words
Chapters: 18

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Elämän hawainnoita 05: Kirjailija; Mutta elääpä hän wielä sittenkin; WääräAuthor: Päivärinta, Pietari, 1827-1913,Language: Finnish, Class: PH: Language and Literatures: Finno-Ugrian and Basque languages and literatures, Release Date: Feb 1, 2005

Editor's review

The Finnish writer Pietari Päivärinta (1827–1913) was a major representative of nineteenth-century Finnish realist literature, and his works often depict rural life and the fate of ordinary people. This book is the fifth volume in the series Life Observations and contains three works: The Writer, But He Is Still Alive After All, and The Mistake. It is a public-domain free ebook. Päivärinta's prose is plain and direct, and he excels at presenting his characters' moral dilemmas and struggles for survival within everyday scenes; the book is useful for understanding modern Finnish literature and Nordic regional narrative. This edition is the original Finnish text, published by Project Gutenberg, and is suitable as Finnish reading material or as a supplementary text for Nordic literary studies. When reading, it is advisable to understand the characters' choices in the context of nineteenth-century Finnish society and to note the author's sympathetic perspective on lower-class life.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Intermediate and advanced language learners of Finnish who wish to engage with original literary texts
Readers studying modern Nordic or Finnish realist literature
Readers interested in nineteenth-century rural life and narratives of ordinary people's fate
Those who need a public-domain free electronic text for teaching or translation practice

Not a good fit for

General readers who do not read Finnish and have no translation to assist them
Readers expecting a full-length plot or a modern narrative pace
Those who only want a quick overview of Finnish literature and do not wish to read the original text

Reading tips

First read through once to grasp the plot, then consult notes to sort out unfamiliar words and dialectal expressions.
Read the three works side by side and note the moral and survival themes that recur in the author's work.
Use background material on nineteenth-century Finnish rural society to understand the logic behind the characters' behavior.
If using the book for language study, excerpt typical dialogue sentences for imitation writing practice.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

What language level is needed to read this book?

The original is in Finnish and contains nineteenth-century written language and regional expressions, so intermediate to advanced Finnish reading ability is recommended. Beginners can first read paragraph by paragraph with a dictionary, or consult a translation to get the gist before reading the original.

Are the three works related to one another?

They belong to the same Life Observations series and revolve around ordinary people's circumstances and choices, but each stands alone. They need not be read in order, and you can start with the shorter one.

Does this edition include notes or an introduction?

This edition is the public-domain electronic text released by Project Gutenberg and mainly presents the original text; it usually does not include modern editorial notes or an introduction, so readers need to supply background material themselves.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Pietari Päivärinta Author · Finnish · 1827–1913

Pietari Päivärinta (1827–1913) was a Finnish writer and member of parliament, born into a crofter's family in Ilmajoki and later employed as a parish clerk. Familiar with rural society in northern Finland, he drew much of his work from the daily lives of peasants and ordinary people, writing in a plain and markedly realistic style. The library holds 22 of his works, including the autobiography Elämäni (My Life), the Elämän havainnoita series, and such novels and sketches as Naimisen juoruja and Isäin pahat teot lasten päällä. Centred on marriage, family, labour and moral dilemmas among common people, these works record folk customs and local experience and are regarded as representatives of early modern Finnish literature.