Aleksis Kivi's Seven Brothers is a unique classic of 19th century Finnish literature, a work that has remained an unrivalled favourite among Finnish readers for almost 150 years. At the time of its publication the work was initially seen as an allegory of the birth of the Finnish nation and its path from ignorance to civilisation. More recently it has been understood to be one of the great melting pots of European literature, as the story of a group of illiterate brothers in the Finnish countryside borrows, modifies and reshapes a wide variety of classical and Renaissance literature.
First published in 1870, Seven Brothers was the first novel written in Finnish. Almost singlehandedly the novel created the literary Finnish language. Stylistically Seven Brothers explores a wide variety of narrative styles, the prose at times parodying the language of the Bible and at others employing poetry and dialogue. Today the world of the novel, its characters, events, stories, songs and poems, permeates every layer of Finnish culture.
