The plays included in this anthology emerged from Finland's post-war generation. Veijo Meri's Private Jokinen's Wedding Leave and Paavo Rintala's novel The Boys (adapted for the stage by Vesa Tapio Valo) deal specifially with war experiences that shaped the people who lived through that period. Eeva-Liisa Manner's Burnt Orange and Jussi Kylätasku's radio play The Oven responded to deeper family problems. all the plays occupy a chaotic landscape where young men have died suddenly in massive numbers, family structures have been undermined, with many losing their homes, and national and spiritual values h have lot their appeal. In this post-Nietzschean world of godless and mindless destruction, the Finnish playwrights weave humour amidst tragedy, depicting characters struggling to survive intact. The plays in this anthology emphasise the arbitrariness of exitence: the absurd experiences in life and the human tragedy of warfare that confound the attempt to find meaning and purpose.

The plays included in this anthology emerged from Finland's post-war generation. Veijo Meri's Private Jokinen's Wedding Leave and Paavo Rintala's novel The Boys (adapted for the stage by Vesa Tapio Valo) deal specifially with war experiences that shaped the people who lived through that period. Eeva-Liisa Manner's Burnt Orange and Jussi Kylätasku's radio play The Oven responded to deeper family problems. all the plays occupy a chaotic landscape where young men have died suddenly in massive numbers, family structures have been undermined, with many losing their homes, and national and spiritual values h have lot their appeal. In this post-Nietzschean world of godless and mindless destruction, the Finnish playwrights weave humour amidst tragedy, depicting characters struggling to survive intact. The plays in this anthology emphasise the arbitrariness of exitence: the absurd experiences in life and the human tragedy of warfare that confound the attempt to find meaning and purpose.