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Christie, Agatha:
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"Ten Little Niggers" (Kymmenen pientä neekeripoikaa)
One of the best murder mysteries ever written. Ten people, unfamiliar to each other, are called to spend some time to an island which become stranded. And one of the occupants is a murderer...
- "Murder on the Orient Express" (Idän pikajunan arvoitus)
Agatha Christie's best Hercule Poirot
story. The plot is really amazing.
Christopher, John:
- "The Tripods" -trilogy (Tripodien aika)
First read as a young boy this book introduced me the scifi-literature.
The world as we know it has ceased and huge tripods now controls what is left of the human kind... This book is classified
as a children- or youth book but in my opinion it is suited to adults too. A very good book.
Dored, Elisabeth:
- "I Loved Tiberius" (Tiberius oli rakkauteni)
One of the best pieces of the historical romance and drama literature. The book tells the story of Julia, daughter
of the Caesar Augustus as Julia herself acts as the storyteller. Truly a touching story. The end of the book makes me
cry, every time.
Durrel, Gerald:
- "My Family and Other Animals" (Eläimet ja muu kotiväkeni)
Extraordinary memoirs of Gerald Durrel's childhood on the island
of Corfu, where "Gerry" spent his days watching, observing and raising animals (and his family). A very good book to
all of you who like to laugh.
Gedge, Pauline:
- "Child of the Morning" (Niilin Valtiatar)
A very good novel of the life of the Hatsepsut, the first and only woman who ever ruled the Egypt as Pharaoh.
I myself have only read the abbreviated version which was published in the Reader's Digest novel collection.
Lauttamus, Niilo:
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"Vieraan kypärän alla"
A story of the group of Finnish Waffen-SS volunteers fighting beside Germans at the Russian
front. Told by the viewpoint of one man, Johannes Aihela. The story follows Aihela from his home in Carelia, eastern
Finland, to the training camp in Gross-Born in East-Pomerania, to the battlefields in Ukraine and finally back to Finland
as the battalion returns home. A very realistic war novel. Only in Finnish. (in my knowledge).
Linna, Väinö:
- "The Unknown Soldier" (Tuntematon sotilas)
The
"holy book" of the Finnish war literature. The story follows events which occurs to a machinegun company during so called
Continuation War 1941-44. The charachters of the book have become the very models of different types of Finnish soldiers.
Linna's book is based on his own experiences in his company during war and most of the lead charachters had a model
in real life. This is a must read to all Finnish people. Unfortunately I have heard that the English translation is not
very good.
- "Here Beneath the North Star" (Täällä pohjantähden alla)
Another book from Linna. The book tells a story of the life
of Finnish crofter family during the first half of the 20th century. It follows their ordinary life with it's joys and saddnesses
as the same time Finland goes through her most crusial moments. Independency, Civil war, World War II... which also
left their marks to the life of the ordinary families. This is truly a great book . Who can forget the first sentence
of the book: "At the beginning there was swamp, a hoe and Jussi."
MacLean, Alistair:
- "Where Eagles Dare" (Kotkat kuuntelevat)
MacLean is one of the top war / adventure book writers and he has written many good novels. One
of his best is the Where Eagles Dare which is a story of the British special team which tries to rescue a captured American
General from a Gestapo headquarters, high in the mountains. Straighforward plot or is it? All is not what it seems... There
is also a Hollywood movie based on this book but it sacrifices the good feeling of the book to the shooting of Nazis. Book
is much better. Read it!
Tolkien, J.R.R:
- "The Hobbit" (Hobitti)
The prelude to the Lord of the Rings.
In this book Tolkien manages to combine a great fantasy story with a light and humorous storytelling. If you have not read
the books of Tolkien before this is the one where to start. A must read to all fantasy and Tolkien lovers.
"The Lord of the Rings -trilogy" (Taru Sormusten Herrasta)
The "father" of all the fantasy literature. Lord of the Rings is a
magnificient, epic story about the battle of good and evil. Located in the fantasy world called Middle-Earth, created
by the professor Tolkien and populated by the races of elves, hobbits, men, dwarves, trolls, orcs, and many more. This
is truly the best fantasy story ever!
"The Silmarillion" (Silmarillion)
The story of the creation and First times of the Middle-Earth.
Tolkien continued his Middle-Earth fantasy stories and brought forth the ancient histories of the Middle-Earth. The Gods
and legends of the past. The creation of the earth and rise of the evil. The birth of elves and humans. The battles against
the great evil, Morgoth. This is a magnificent adding to the Tolkien's fantasy world but it is more "heavy" to read and
more dedicated to the real Tolkien fans. Still if you have read Hobbit and Lord of the Rings and liked them, then you have
to read this too.
Waltari, Mika:
- "The Egyptian" (Sinuhe egyptiläinen)
Propably the best known Finnish book in the world. In his book
Waltari tells the story of Sinuhe, a foundling, who is adobted by a poor physician and his wife. The story
follows the life of Sinuhe from his childhood to the old age. The Egyptian is a great historical novel which describes
the ancient worlds of Egypt, Syria, and Crete and the life of their inhabitants in detail so that the reader thinks
that the history itself has become alive. In same way the reader can not be touched by the charachter of Sinuhe. His dreams,
his love, his folly, his sorrow, his pain and finally his bitternes can be all feeled from the text. A must read!!!
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