Vaino: A Boy of New Finland (1930 Newbery Honor)

Vaino: A Boy of New Finland (yet another 1930 Newbery Honor Book) is a novel which weaves together two very important threads of Finish history and culture. In the ‘modern’ era (c. 1918) we follow the struggles of a young boy named Vaino and his family as they navigate the complicated terrain of newly gained independence and the subsequent Finnish Civil War. Via stories from Vaino’s mother (taken from the great Finnish epic The Kalevala) we meet the ‘original’ Vaino - the first man, Väinämöinen, born of the goddess Ilmatar.

The old tales have a strange, wistful and haunting quality that strikes me as very uniquely Nordic (based on my very limited experience with Swedish Folk Tales). Some of them are really very striking and memorable - particularly the tragedy of Aino, an adamantly reluctant bride. Ultimately however, I was more emotionally engaged in the ‘modern’ Vaino’s story. And so the (often very long) storytelling interludes felt like an interruption to the flow of the 'main' story. In short, the two threads just didn’t work all that well together.

Overall, I genuinely appreciated the opportunity to get acquainted with a region of which I had very little prior knowledge. That is currently my very favorite part about taking on this Newbery project. So far I can’t say that I’ve come across a lot of great literature (although I have unearthed a couple of real gems) but I have encountered some truly fascinating stories and learned something along the way. I definitely plan on seeking out and exploring The Kalevala further!