Tuesday, July 27, 2004
TROLL A love story by Johanna Sinisalo
Troll A love story by Johanna Sinisalo is a twisted folk tale.
Angel stops an act of bullying and rescues the victim who turns out to be a young troll. Though mythic, in this reality, Finnish trolls have been identified and classified by zoologists. Trolls are rare in the wild and almost never known in captivity. Angel keeps the troll and Johanna Sinisalo includes folktales and animal research as some of the resources that Angel taps to find how to feed and care for the troll.
The story is disturbing, to me, in its sexuality. The sexual tension in Angel clangs alarms to me not only in that the troll is an animal but that the troll is immature. As Angel uses the troll for an advertisement photo campaign he is working on a parallel develops between his relationship (urg) with the troll and the abusive relationship of the couple downstairs.
Betrayal, taming of animals, human nature or animal nature....
Angel's interaction with the troll leads him to view many people and relationships in different ways...seeing humanity where before he had glanced past with disdain.
Angel stops an act of bullying and rescues the victim who turns out to be a young troll. Though mythic, in this reality, Finnish trolls have been identified and classified by zoologists. Trolls are rare in the wild and almost never known in captivity. Angel keeps the troll and Johanna Sinisalo includes folktales and animal research as some of the resources that Angel taps to find how to feed and care for the troll.
The story is disturbing, to me, in its sexuality. The sexual tension in Angel clangs alarms to me not only in that the troll is an animal but that the troll is immature. As Angel uses the troll for an advertisement photo campaign he is working on a parallel develops between his relationship (urg) with the troll and the abusive relationship of the couple downstairs.
Betrayal, taming of animals, human nature or animal nature....
Angel's interaction with the troll leads him to view many people and relationships in different ways...seeing humanity where before he had glanced past with disdain.
# posted by JJ @ 5:07 PM 
