Troll

by Holly and Kevin

When Angel first sees Pessi he knows that “he wants it”. What is the relationship between love and possession in the novel? Do you think that Troll is really “a love story”? How exactly do you think Pessi views Angel? Do you think that Angel would have the same obsession for Pessi without Pessi’s juniper berry smell?

There are numerous instances of the commodification of bodies prevalent in the text, from Mikael’s own commercial use of Pessi to Palomita’s status as a mail-order bride. What is the importance of this? Is it important that it’s occurring in a novel primarily concerned with male homosexuality? Is it important at all?

What is Palomita’s role in the book? Does her character add/change what we think about how Angel is holding Pessi captive? What do you think about Palomita helping to hold Pessi captive when she could understand Pessi’s situation better than anyone else? How much of a part does femininity have to play in the narrative? Is it important that the novel was written by a female author?

We have seen that the scientific evidence presented in the novel doesn’t exactly correspond to the knowledge that Angel has about trolls by simply having intimate contact. Do you think that the way the troll is portrayed as “violent” in the pictures contributes to the preexisting idea of trolls for the general population? Why do you think that Angel chooses to “use” Pessi in order to impress Martes?

We touched on this in class before, but what is the purpose/impact of the three distinct types of rhetoric seen in the novel? (The main narrative, the scientific analysis of trolls, and the folklore surrounding trolls) Do you like the way the narrative switches back and forth? Is it effective in the novel? Does it detract from it in any way? What do you think a narrative from Pessi would say?

What are some of the binaries that you see in the book? How does Sinisalo deconstruct these?

Bestiality and Pedophilia are two of the most obvious themes arising from Mikael’s relationship with Pessi, but the novel on a whole seems primarily concerned with the relationships between all of the characters. What role does sexuality play in the narrative? Is it important that we only get first-person perspectives from homosexual male characters and Palomita?