Troll By Johanna Sinisalo Discussed January 2005 Buy Troll from Amazon.com Buy Troll from Lambda Rising

Questions

1. Did you like the book? Why or why not? Were there particular aspects of the book that you felt were strengths? Weaknesses?
2. Troll was originally published in Finland, in Finnish, and was translated for the US edition. Did you find the text awkward in any way? Were there language or cultural references that made reading difficult? Could you tell this was a translation?
3. The novel includes numerous side bars and reference texts. What did you think of the author's use of these non-prose pieces? Did you attempt to visit any of the referenced websites or find any of the reference materials that were "quoted"?
4. In Sinisalo's novel, what do the trolls represent? Compare this book with, if you've seen it, the film "The Wolves of Krommer"
5. Midway through the book Sinisalo discusses the concept of "cities within cities" - essentially the idea that for different residents or visitors a location, a city, has a different landscape. What do you think of this concept?
6. How open do you get the impression that the "queer" community is in the city where the novel takes place?
7. What character or characters did you find most appealing? Least appealing? Why? Is Angel a likable person?
8. There are a couple of scenes in the book that border on (or cross the line) sexual taboos - bestiality and/or pedophilia. What did you think of this aspect of the novel? Did you find Angel's actions disturbing? Did it color your appreciation of the novel as a whole?
9. What did you think of the ending of the book? Do characters get their just rewards? Is it satisfying? Do you feel the story is complete?
10. Sinisalo's novel comes from the premise that Trolls exist as a scientific fact. What do you think of the concept of trolls, fairies, etc?