Popular music from Vittula
Popular music from Vittula (original title: popular music från Vittula ) is the first novel by the Swedish author Mikael Niemi . The novel was first published in Sweden in 2000, followed by a translation into German by Christel Hildebrandt in 2002. Since 2003 there has also been an English translation by Laurie Thompson, published under the title Popular Music from Vittula .
The story of the novel revolves around Matti and his childhood friend Niila, who grew up in Pajala in the 1960s and 1970s , a place in the border region between Sweden and Finland, which is popularly known as Vittulajänkkä (both in Finnish; vittula: vulgar language for the female genital including syllable ending for small places like in Pajala , jänkkä: Moor) is called. Niila comes from a family of Laestadians who have a particularly strict and ascetic approach to life. The two discovered their love for rock 'n' roll early on and went to great lengths to found a band in the remote region. Niemi describes the story of the two boys with great feeling, from adolescence to puberty and beyond. He also pays a lot of attention to the residents of the Pajala region, with all their quirks and more or less lovable habits.
In 2003, the novel was followed by the audio book of the same name, read by Gerd Köster . In 2004 the book was made into a film under the direction of Reza Bagher , with Max Enderfors (Matti) and Andreas af Enehielm (Niila) starring . The film was released in German cinemas in autumn 2005.
On October 11, 2008, popular music from Vittula was performed for the first time on a German stage in the Rostock Volkstheater . Katariina Lahti , who had already successfully staged the original in Finland, also directed the German premiere. Benjamin Bieber took over the role of Matti and Hannes Florstedt took over the role of Niila.
literature
- Niemi, Mikael: Popular music from Vittula . btb 2002.