la historia de los siete hermanos de Jukola, siete jóvenes que, al morir su madre, deciden abandonar su granja natal para irse a vivir a los bosques. Los jóvenes tienen un carácter indomable y rebelde y los encontronazos con sus vecinos, sumados a su incapacidad para aceptar las reglas que la sociedad impone, les decide a emprender una vida independiente y solitaria.

En el bosque, los siete hermanos construyen una cabaña y viven de la caza, pero su falta de previsión y su carácter destemplado les meten en líos una y otra vez. En cada ocasión, los hermanos prometen enmendarse, pero nunca tardan mucho en volver a las andadas. Finalmente, después de una década de rodar por los bosques y de muchas experiencias, los hermanos acabarán por escarmentar y sentar la cabeza. Jóvenes y robustos, los hermanos levantarán una próspera granja y llegarán a convertirse en pilares de su comunidad. ( )

4/20/22

Seitsemän veljestä

VOIMALLA SEITSEMÄN MIEHEN. Jukolan talo, eteläisessä Hämeessä, 1800-luvun puolivälissä? Veljekset Juhani, Tuomas, Aapo, Simeoni, Timo, Lauri ja Eero joutuvat vastentahtoisesti opettelemaan yhteiskunnan tavoille. Rovasti määrää heidät jalkapuun uhalla lukemaan aakkosia, mutta ne eivät aukene kuin Eerolle.

Kotimatkalla he päätyvät tappeluun toukolaisten kanssa. Nöyryytetyt ja vapautta janoavat veljekset päättävät vuokrata Jukolan 10 vuodeksi ja rakentaa uudistalon Impivaaraan, kauas ihmisten ilmoilta.

Aleksis Kiven romaanin filmatisointi seuraa uskollisesti seitsemän veljeksen tarinaa alkukantaisista villeistä yhteiskuntakelpoisiksi kansalaisiksi. (Takakansi)
https://yle.fi/aihe/artikkeli/2009/02/13/seitseman-veljesta-turun-kaupunginteatt...

First published in 1870, Seven Brothers is considered the first novel written in Finnish. Previously, Finnish novels had been written in Swedish, or even Latin. The introduction tells us that the critical condemnation of Seven Brothers was fierce, for it was written in a "realistic" or naturalist style, and Finland was still enraptured with the Romantic novel. This fierce condemnation evidently led to Kivi's mental breakdown and premature death just two years later.

The seven boisterous, brawling Jukola brothers live in rural Finland. They are just entering adulthood when their mother dies, leaving them parentless. And while they bicker endlessly with each other, they remain fiercely loyal as well, presenting a united front to the outside world, which wants them to simmer down, to put it mildly. The adventures of these brothers as well as the evolution of their internal relations and their development into mature adults provide the novel's course. But the narrative seems almost as much to be a parable about life in general and Finnish rural culture in particular. One of the brothers, Aapo, is often asked to tell folk tales to the rest in moments of crisis. He does so, at fair but entertaining length, and these "set pieces" (as Borje Vahamaki's Introduction refers to them) add a lot to the novel's flow and richness, and provide insight into the culture of the time and place, as well.

The beginning of the novel was a little hard for me to get through, to be honest, as the immature bickering among the brothers made me impatient. But eventually the characters did evolve, and I became more attuned to the flow of the narrative, as well. My enjoyment was enhanced by the fact that I bought my copy of Seven Brothers at the incredible Academic Bookstore in downtown Helsinki when my wife and I vacationed in Finland a few years back. I don't know why it took me so long to actually read the book, but I'm glad that I finally have. ( )