Sillanpää, << SIHL lahn pah, >> Frans Eemil (1888-1964), was the leading Finnish writer of his time and the first author from Finland to win the Nobel Prize for literature. Sillanpaa won the prize in 1939 for his novels. He also wrote many short stories. Sillanpaa’s novels have been praised for their sensitivity, psychological insight into their characters, and respect for nature.
Sillanpaa was born in Hameenkyro, Finland, and studied biology at the University of Helsinki. His first novel, Life and the Sun (1916), reflects his belief that individuals are part of nature and that instincts govern human actions. Perhaps his best-known work is the novel The Maid Silja (also translated as Fallen Asleep While Young, 1931), a story of a peasant family. Meek Heritage (1919) deals with the Finnish civil war of 1918. His other novels include A Man’s Way (1932) and People in the Summer Night (1934).
