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Matti Yrjänä Joensuu

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Matti Yrjänä Joensuu
Matti Yrjänä Joensuu in 2010
Matti Yrjänä Joensuu in 2010
Born(1948-10-31)31 October 1948
Helsinki, Finland
Died4 December 2011(2011-12-04) (aged 63)
Valkeakoski, Finland
OccupationAuthor
NationalityFinnish
GenreCrime fiction
Years active1976–2010
Notable worksTimo Harjunpää series

Matti Yrjänä Joensuu (31 October 1948, in Helsinki, Finland – 4 December 2011, in Valkeakoski, Finland)[1][2] was a Finnish writer of crime fiction.[3] He has been awarded the State's Literature Prize (1982), Vuoden johtolanka prize (1985, 1994, 2004), and he has been nominated for two Finlandias.[4] He received the Martin Beck Award in 1987.

The protagonist of Joensuu's novels, the senior constable Timo Harjunpää, is a sympathetic character who is equally human about the criminals he encounters in his work as his family. Joensuu also describes the world of thought of his people. The surname Harjunpää writer borrowed from 1966 from a deceased constable Reino Harjunpää.[5]

Joensuu's Harjunpää stories have also been adapted for Film & TV. Joensuu's work has been translated into English, Bulgarian, Dutch, Italian, Norwegian, French, Swedish, German, Slovak, Danish, Hungarian, Armenian, Russian and Estonian.

Timo Harjunpää novels

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Joensuu has written several novels about the personal life and work of policeman Timo Harjunpää. He is a very credible and pleasant man, who treats the criminals as humanely as his own family, which consists of Timo, his wife Elisa and three children (Valpuri, Pipsa and Pauliina). Another major character is Harjunpää's police partner Onerva Nykänen.

List of Harjunpää novels

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  • Väkivallan virkamies (1976)
  • Possu ja paavin panttivangit (1977)
  • Harjunpää ja pyromaani (1978)
  • Harjunpää ja kapteeni Karhu (1981)
  • Harjunpää ja ahdistelija (1982)
  • Harjunpää ja poliisin poika (1983) (Harjunpää and the Stone Murders, translated in English by Raili Taylor)
  • Harjunpää ja heimolaiset (1984)
  • Harjunpää ja rakkauden lait (1985)
  • Harjunpää ja kiusantekijät (1986)
  • Harjunpää ja rakkauden nälkä (1993) (To Steal Her Love, translated in English by David Hackston)
  • Harjunpää ja pahan pappi (2003) (The Priest of Evil, translated in English by David Hackston)
  • Harjunpää ja rautahuone (2010)

Harjunpää adaptations

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Year of Release Title Harjunpää actor Media type
1983 Harjunpää och kalla döden / Harjunpää ja kylmä kuolema Johan Simberg TV
1985 Harjunpää och antastaren / Harjunpää ja ahdistelija Johan Simberg TV
1993 Harjunpää ja kiusantekijät Kari Heiskanen Film
1995 Harjunpää ja heimolaiset Kari Heiskanen TV
2007 Rakkauden nälkä Markku Maalismaa TV
2010 Harjunpää & pahan pappi (Priest of Evil) Peter Franzén Film
2022 Harjunpää Olli Rahkonen TV

References

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  1. ^ Otava: Joensuu, Matti Yrjänä
  2. ^ Helsingin Sanomat: Matti Yrjänä Joensuu (1948-2011)
  3. ^ Ruohonen, Voitto: Paha meidän kanssamme: Matti Yrjänä Joensuun romaanien yhteiskuntakuvasta, Otava, 2005
  4. ^ "Interview with Joensuu". Archived from the original on 2006-09-23. Retrieved 2008-01-08.
  5. ^ Nordman, Risto (1991). Huumekyttä. Harri Nykänen. Porvoo: WSOY. ISBN 951-0-17253-7. OCLC 57913369.