Konkka, Anita 1941-

PERSONAL:

Born 1941.

CAREER:

Writer.

AWARDS, HONORS:

State Prize and Finlandia Prize shortlist, both for Hullun taivaassa.

WRITINGS:

Irti, W. Soderstrom (Porvoo, Finland), 1970.

Tytar (novel), Tammi (Helsinki, Finland), 1983.

Samaa sukua (novel), Tammi (Helsinki, Finland), 1985.

Talvi Ravennassa (novel), Tammi (Helsinki, Finland), 1986.

Hullun taivaassa (novel), [Finland], 1988, translated by A.D. Haun and Owen Witesman as A Fool's Paradise, Dalkey Archive Press (Normal, IL), 2006.

Halujen puutarha, Tammi (Helsinki, Finland), 1992.

Johanneksen tunnustukset, Tammi (Helsinki, Finland), 1995.

Also author of other novels, essays, and radio plays published in Finland.

SIDELIGHTS:

Anita Konkka is known for her works exploring female characters in modern Finland. Many of her novels, too, are characterized by the author's interest in dreams and their psychological relevance. Her first book to be translated into English is A Fool's Paradise, about an unemployed woman and her relationship with a married man. Set in the 1980s, the story blends reality and the protagonist's imaginings together in a way that at times makes the two worlds difficult to distinguish. "The skill behind this is especially considerable since Konkka provides connections that are smoothly seamless between the conscious world and the dreams," observed Bob Williams in the Compulsive Reader online. Asked by Ana Lucic in a Center for Book Culture interview which was more important, the theme about economic problems or the psychological exploration, Konkka replied: "I think that the dreams—what's happening in protagonist's mind—are more important than unemployment. It provides a background and contrast to the amour fou." Booklist critic Marta Segal Block asserted that Konkka "does a masterful job of" expressing her character's "romantic turmoil," while a Publishers Weekly reviewer called the author's writing style "wonderfully cadenced and vivid."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, July 1, 2006, Marta Segal Block, review of A Fool's Paradise, p. 30.

Guardian (London, England), August 26, 2006, "Adolescent Angst," review of A Fool's Paradise.

Publishers Weekly, May 22, 2006, review of A Fool's Paradise, p. 32.

ONLINE

Anita Konkka Home Page,http://koti.mbnet.fi/akonkka (March 2, 2007).

Center for Book Culture,http://www.centerforbookculture.org/ (March 2, 2007), Ana Lucic, "An Interview with Anita Konkka."

Compulsive Reader,http://www.compulsivereader.com/ (March 2, 2007), Bob Williams, review of A Fool's Paradise.