NELJÄ PÄIVÄNLASKUA (a novel by Mika Waltari)

Mika Waltari: Neljä päivänlaskua [Four Sunsets] / [Fyra solnedgånger]. Helsinki: WSOY 1949. A novel about a novel. A fictive account on the writing of the novel Sinuhe the Egyptian (1945), with magical, fairy-tale aspects. The author reports that he has worked profitably for years as a nail merchant but is now inspired again to write, which he enjoys immensely, haunted by Sinuhe and the other ancient Egyptians. His heart exists separately from his body, taken care of by his wife, then lost and found at the home of a former sweetheart. The main writing takes place in the country, in deep forest, in the care of grandmother. The writer observes the coming of the spring, the summer, and the autumn. He is tempted by alcohol and experiments with the powerful drugs of the fly-agarik mushroom and the thorn-apple, mixed with brandy. He is fascinated by a huge flock of bream spawning in the shallow bay. He enjoys pike prepared in the oven with a filling of plum, eggs and barley. He talks with animals. A deeply neurotic novel which aspires hard to be light and spirited. A main stylistic device is repetition, which feels annoying. The magic spells are meant to banish madness. The silence on the world-historical moment is absolute.