Väinö Linna (pronounced [ˈʋæi̯nø ˈlinːɑ] ⓘ; 20 December 1920 – 21 April 1992) was a Finnish author and a former soldier who fought in the Continuation War (1941–44).

Typical of his generation, the adolescent author-to-be moved from the countryside to a developing city in search of industrial labour which he found at the Finlayson textile mills.

[citation needed] After the war, Linna got married and started writing while working at the mills during the day.

However, Linna's first two novels Päämäärä and Musta rakkaus sold poorly; he also wrote poetry but did not enjoy success with that either.

It is evident that at the time there was a distinct social need for a novel that would deal with the war and ordinary people's role in it.

The Unknown Soldier satisfied that need completely, as its characters were unarguably more diverse, realistic yet heroic, than those of earlier Finnish war novels.

In Finland's biggest newspaper, Helsingin Sanomat, the critic Toini Havu argued in her review that Linna did not present his characters in a grand historical and ethical context, which she thought was crucial.

This time he did not return to Finlayson, as he now could dedicate his life entirely to literature due to the financial success his works had earned him.

[3] Linna's realism of his work has had a profound influence on Finnish social, political and cultural life.

The opening line of Under the North Star, "In the beginning there were the swamp, the hoe – and Jussi", is recognized by most Finns as well as Rokka's famous exclamation, "Where do you need a real good man, here you have one!