IN Pajala, a small isolated town in northern Sweden, close to Lapland in an area dominated by forest and snow, lives Matti.

Growing up in such a cold, macho world can be hard for a boy and Matti's adolescence is no exception.

In this unforgiving arctic wilderness real men do snuff, drink moonshine, shoot elk, work up a sweat in saunas and fight whoever stands in their way.

So when the first Beatles single roars like the breaking of winter ice into this remote corner of Scandinavia, Matti has a choice to make. He'd love to form a band, impress the girls and sing pop songs in broken English. But with the men of Pajala looking on, can he really get away with something as "girlie" as wanting to sing in front of other people while completely sober?

Author and poet Mikael Niemi has written a wonderfully warm tale of life in a close-knit community peopled by eccentric characters. It reminded me of Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas.

Updated: 09:05 Wednesday, October 01, 2003