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Book review: Marja Rankkala emerges from Olavi Paavolainen’s shadow in Heidi Köngäs’s novel
🇫🇮 Finland /Culture & Society

Book review: Marja Rankkala emerges from Olavi Paavolainen’s shadow in Heidi Köngäs’s novel

From Helsingin Sanomat · () Finnish

Translated from Finnish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

In-depth Sources not specified Context piece
  • A review examines Heidi Köngäs’s novel “Siivet kantapäissä,” which portrays dramaturg Marja Rankkala’s life around radio theatre director Olavi Paavolainen.
  • The reviewer highlights the novel’s treatment of love, daily life and Rankkala dismissing her famous boss.
  • The review says Rankkala’s intellectual world remains less clearly developed.

Heidi Köngäs’s new novel takes its title from a song once frequently heard on Finnish radio: “Every boy has wings on his heels.” The song’s lyricist, the review notes, was Marja Rankkala, a figure many readers may not have known.

“Siivet kantapäissä,” published by Otava, runs to 363 pages. It brings Rankkala into view through her connections to radio theatre director Olavi Paavolainen and the women surrounding him.

The review finds that love, everyday life and Rankkala’s decision to dismiss the famous director come across effectively. It is less convinced that the novel makes Rankkala’s own thinking equally clear.

Every boy has wings on his heels

— Marja RankkalaThe lyric quoted in the review provides the title for Köngäs’s novel.
About this summary

Originally published by Helsingin Sanomat in Finnish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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