fiction.wikisort.org - Writer

Laila Ellen Kaarina Hirvisaari (7 June 1938 – 16 June 2021),[1] also known as Laila Hietamies, was a Finnish author and writer. By 2008, more than four million copies of her works had been sold.[2]

Laila Hirvisaari
Laila Hirvisaari in 2009
Born	(1938-06-07)7 June 1938 Viipuri, Finland
Died	16 June 2021(2021-06-16) (aged 83) Helsinki, Finland
Other names	Laila Hietamies (1958–2004)
Spouse(s)	Heikki Hietamies, m. 1958

Biography

When Laila Hirvisaari was three years old, her father Aarne died in the Continuation War between Finland and the Soviet Union, so she had no memories of him.[3] After the war, she and her family were evacuated first to Lappeenranta and later to the western part of Finland.

In 1958, Laila Hirvisaari married Heikki Hietamies, who later also became a well-known Finnish author. He is also known for presenting in the Tangomarkkinat ("Tango fair"), a respected tango competition (1985–1999). By the marriage, Laila Hirvisaari became Laila Hietamies.[3][4]

Laila Hietamies's first novel Lehmusten kaupunki ("City of the Lindens") was published in 1972 and started a series of novels about Lappeenranta,[3] of which the seventh part was published in 2004.[5] Hietamies wrote many other novel series, mostly about Karelia and the consequences of the wars of Finland in the 1940s. She wrote also books about a Russian princess Sonja at the time of the Russian Revolution.

On 9 December 2004, Laila Hietamies, along with her three cousins, changed her name back to the maiden name Hirvisaari, and from then on her books are being published under the name of Laila Hirvisaari.[3]

Hirvisaari was granted many respected literature awards but never the most respected, Finlandia Prize.[5] Her novel about Russian empress (Minä, Katariina) was nominated for Finlandia Prize in 2011.[6]

Hirvisaari wrote 34 novels and many short stories and plays. A movie was filmed based on her novel Hylätyt talot, autiot pihat ("Abandoned houses, empty yards") in 2000.[7] Several of her books have been translated into other languages:[5]

• Myrskypilvet (Tormipilved), Estonian, Eesti Raamat, 1996
• Satakielimetsä (Ööbikusalu), Estonian, Eesti Raamat, 1998
• Sonja (Vürstitar Sonja), Estonian, Eesti Raamat, 1995, translated by Debora Vaarandi
• Valkoakaasiat (Valged akaatsiad), Eesti Raamat, 1996, translated by Debora Vaarandi
• Vienan punainen kuu (Red Moon over White Sea), English, Aspasia Books/Canada, 2000, translated by Börje Vähämäki
• Viktoria (Victoria), Estonian, Eesti Raamat, 1999, translated by Anne Karu

References

External links

• Media related to Laila Hirvisaari at Wikimedia Commons

На других языках

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- [en] Laila Hirvisaari

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[ru] Хирвисаари, Лайла

Лайла Эллен Каарина Хирвисаари до замужества — Хиетами (фин. Laila Hirvisaari, 7 июня 1938, Выборг, Финляндия — 16 июня 2021, Хельсинки, Финляндия) — финская писательница , сценарист, драматург. Лауреат премии Pro Finlandia (1993). Лауреат Государственной премии Финляндии по литературе (1988).

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