Nobel prize, commemorative coin and asteroid

The first Finnish Nobelist, F.E. Sillanpää, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature 1939 figurate from 4th November on commemorative 2 euro coin. The coin commemorates the 125th Anniversary of the birth of the author.

Sillanpää was awarded the Nobel "for his deep understanding of his country's peasantry and the exquisite art with which he has portrayed their way of life and their relationship with Nature". He understood nature as part of the Finnish character and, like the Finnish people, the characters in his classic works knew that even in the midst of difficulties the most important thing is to stay honest to oneself.

"The sun had risen some time after three and climbed gradually to overlook hundreds and thousands of yards and windows, pats and porches, and even to peer into rooms where human beings slept in their beds. It looked also into birds' nests, in which to be sure there was no atmosphere of Sunday, for in them every morning, especially the sunny one, is equally holy." (from The Maid Silja, 1931, translated by Alex Matson)

International fame Sillanpää gained in 1931, when Nuorena nukkunut (The Maid Silja/Fallen Asleep While Young) was translated into English, and was published in the United States and in the United Kingdom. The Dutch and Italian critics predicted a Nobel Prize for Sillanpää. The story depicts the loss of a farm and the extinction of a family, culminating in the death of the farmer's daughter, Silja Salmelus.

After losing her home, she is forced to take work as a servant girl. Silja's sexual intercourse with Armas, her beloved, is the turning point of the story. Armas leaves her, and she dies of tuberculosis at the height of a sunny summer. Several of Sillanpää's books have been filmed, starting from The Maid Silja.

The author has even his own asteroid 1446 Sillanpää, discovered on January 26, 1938 by the renowned Finnish astronomer and physicist Yrjö Väisälä, was named after him.