Arto Salminen

Who was Arto Salminen?

Arto Salminen was a Finnish writer known for his social commentary. Salminen, who had also worked as a journalist and taxi driver, wrote six novels which criticised with a morbid black sense of humour such current phenomena in Finnish society as neoliberalist politics, the decline of the welfare state, tabloid media, reality television and so on. His books gained a small cult following in Finland and they also received excellent reviews even though they did not sell particularly well.

Salminen received the Koskenkorva Prize in 1998, and the Olvi Prize in 2004. He died of a sudden stroke in November 2005.