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holyshark's review
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
a quick, fun read. the prose is great and story has wit, but i feel that i won't remember this book at the end of the year. while fun, the storyline didn't seem very compelling and what kept me going was the quality of the writing.
noorabstraktio's review
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.25
burns_cheadle's review against another edition
3.0
3—3.5 stars: Personally, I did not enjoy this novel as much as other Antti Tuomainen books I read recently. It was sufficiently entertaining to keep me reading but I never quite believed in the first-person protagonist. I suppose I simply do not relate to an all-too-flawed pastor with unbelievable abilities to survive a litany of assaults and come back swinging. The plot line begins with an offbeat premise but then develops in a relatively predictable manner. I am not giving up on Tuomainen and will continue to read other his other works, but this one would not be my top recommendation.
vandermeer's review against another edition
2.0
Gute Idee, aber man hätte so viel mehr draus machen können. Irgendwann ertappe ich mich dabei, Passagen zu überfliegen. Es hat seine lustigen Momente, aber insgesamt interessiert es mich ziemlich bald nicht mehr, weil es einfach zu langweilig ist. Und so ein wenig pseudo-tiefgründig.
kellyvandamme's review
5.0
Little Siberia is about Joel, who is a priest and former military man, and he also works in the local veterans museum as a guard. At the beginning of the book, a race car driver is pushing his car to the limit on the dark and snowy roads of rural Finland, when a meteorite strikes and lands on his passenger seat. I don’t know if you’ve noticed but this opening scene is brilliantly summed up in the striking cover of this book.
The meteorite is placed in the local museum before it will be transported to London. A few of people realise that the meteorite is worth a lot of money and it becomes a target, and in the process so does Joel, who volunteered to take the night shifts in the museum for as long as the meteorite is there. But stopping thieves from getting away with the treasure that fell from the sky is not Joel’s only problem: his wife tells him she’s pregnant and he’s sure that he can’t have created this new life, but then who did?
Both as a priest and as a man his faith has become quite wobbly. Who and what should he even believe in? In God? In himself? In what the doctors told him? In what his wife tells him? In the Almighty Elk? (Don’t ask)
As I’ve come to expect from Antti Tuomainen, I found Little Siberia a suspenseful, dark and funny book. It’s hard to explain to those who are new to Tuomainen, you have to experience it to fully understand it. I think his books are truly unique, I personally haven’t found this Tuomainen trait anywhere else. It’s not what I would call comedy. It’s this very suspenseful crime thriller story, you’re practically biting your nails sitting on the edge of your seat and then there’s this one funny remark or a hilarious observation or a scene filled to the brim with this dark and dry sense of humour and it takes you completely by surprise and you just burst out laughing. And while there are other authors who rely on comic relief to ease the tension, none I’ve read do it quite like Antti does.
Recommended!
The meteorite is placed in the local museum before it will be transported to London. A few of people realise that the meteorite is worth a lot of money and it becomes a target, and in the process so does Joel, who volunteered to take the night shifts in the museum for as long as the meteorite is there. But stopping thieves from getting away with the treasure that fell from the sky is not Joel’s only problem: his wife tells him she’s pregnant and he’s sure that he can’t have created this new life, but then who did?
Both as a priest and as a man his faith has become quite wobbly. Who and what should he even believe in? In God? In himself? In what the doctors told him? In what his wife tells him? In the Almighty Elk? (Don’t ask)
As I’ve come to expect from Antti Tuomainen, I found Little Siberia a suspenseful, dark and funny book. It’s hard to explain to those who are new to Tuomainen, you have to experience it to fully understand it. I think his books are truly unique, I personally haven’t found this Tuomainen trait anywhere else. It’s not what I would call comedy. It’s this very suspenseful crime thriller story, you’re practically biting your nails sitting on the edge of your seat and then there’s this one funny remark or a hilarious observation or a scene filled to the brim with this dark and dry sense of humour and it takes you completely by surprise and you just burst out laughing. And while there are other authors who rely on comic relief to ease the tension, none I’ve read do it quite like Antti does.
Recommended!
btpbookclub's review
5.0
Yet again Orenda have not disappointed me with this beauty… Infact they never have. From the prologue alone I was interested, intrigued and hooked! It’s different, but I bloody loved every minute of it! It was a real page turner.
Brilliantly written, short chapters and fast paced. It’s an edge of your seat read as you don’t know what is going to happen next or should I say… When it will happen in this case. I loved Joels character he was so determined bless him in all aspects of his life and throughout this story.
Highly recommend! A well deserved five stars from me. Have nothing bad to say other than it ended! A must read for me.
Brilliantly written, short chapters and fast paced. It’s an edge of your seat read as you don’t know what is going to happen next or should I say… When it will happen in this case. I loved Joels character he was so determined bless him in all aspects of his life and throughout this story.
Highly recommend! A well deserved five stars from me. Have nothing bad to say other than it ended! A must read for me.
kate66's review
4.0
This has very much the same feel as The Man Who Died and Palm Beach Finland in that it has a lot of misdirection, a lot of wrong turns and a lot of totally wrong deductions - all on the part of the hero obviously.
All the Tuomainen books I've read have been enjoyable. Not particularly laugh out loud but thoroughly farcical and quite crackpot at times.
I'd recommend to anyone who likes strange, wonderful and funny books. They're enhanced, as always, by Finland's unique flora, fauna, weather and location on the planet, not to mention the characteristics of the inhabitants.
All the Tuomainen books I've read have been enjoyable. Not particularly laugh out loud but thoroughly farcical and quite crackpot at times.
I'd recommend to anyone who likes strange, wonderful and funny books. They're enhanced, as always, by Finland's unique flora, fauna, weather and location on the planet, not to mention the characteristics of the inhabitants.
dietah's review
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25