A Nail Merchant at Nightfall

A Nail Merchant at Nightfall (Finnish: Neljä päivänlaskua) is a 1949 novel by the Finnish writer Mika Waltari. It is a fictionalised and humorous account of when Waltari wrote his novel The Egyptian. It was published in English in 1954, translated by Alan Beesley.[1]

A Nail Merchant at Nightfall
First UK edition
AuthorMika Waltari
Original titleNeljä päivänlaskua
TranslatorAlan Beesley
CountryFinland
LanguageFinnish
PublisherWSOY
Putnam (UK)
Publication date
1949
Published in English
1955
Pages194

Reception edit

Martin Levin of The Saturday Review described the book as "an involved little allegory in which the temptations of the flesh and the pains of authorship are almost thoroughly obscured by a series of symbolic vignettes."[2] Kirkus Reviews wrote: "A tour de force which may, just possibly, capture the fancy of those looking for something in the vein of allegory, fantasy. ... There are bits of poetic writing here. But the appeal is special."[3]

References edit

  1. ^ A nail merchant at nightfall : a novel. OCLC 58070787. Retrieved 2016-01-31 – via WorldCat.
  2. ^ Levin, Martin (1955-08-06). "Notes". The Saturday Review. p. 16.
  3. ^ "A Nail Merchant Nightfall". Kirkus Reviews. 1955-04-25. Retrieved 2016-01-31.