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3.28 AVERAGE
3.28 AVERAGE
dark
Ensinnäkin, en tiennyt, että suomenkielistä kauhukirjallisuutta (joitain novelleja lukuunottamatta) on edes olemassa. Jo siksi tämä oli iloinen yllätys. Ja kirja on hyvin kirjoitettu--paljon paremmin kuin monet angloamerikkalaisista tusinakauhuista. Se tempaisee mukaansa. Bonuksena 80-luvun hevarinuori, joka myöhemmin väitteli uskontotieteestä tuntee olevansa kirjan miljöössä kuin kotonaan. :)
Hautala on siis kyvykäs, mutta Stephen King-vertaus ontuu. King rakentaa yhteisöjä. Hänen kirjoissaan saattaa mennä 100 sivua ilman viitettäkään tunnistettavaan "kauhuun". Kuokkamummossa taas jokainen kohtaus on viritetty pitämään yllä kauhua, välillä jopa pelottelumaisesti. Tässä mielessä Hautala on lähempänä vaikkapa James Herbertiä kuin Kingiä tai John Ajvide Lindqvistiä. Yhteisöäkin kyllä rakennetaan, mutta ohuesti ja helposti tunnistettavien luokka-ja etnisten erojen varaan. Usein Kuokkamummo vaikuttaa enemmän elokuvakäsikirjoitukselta kuin kirjalta, mikä tekee siitä sujuvan ja kauhullaan painostavan, mutta pinnallisen.
Joka tapauksessa hieno uusi tuttavuus ja varmasti tutustun seuraavaankin Hautalan teokseen.
Hautala on siis kyvykäs, mutta Stephen King-vertaus ontuu. King rakentaa yhteisöjä. Hänen kirjoissaan saattaa mennä 100 sivua ilman viitettäkään tunnistettavaan "kauhuun". Kuokkamummossa taas jokainen kohtaus on viritetty pitämään yllä kauhua, välillä jopa pelottelumaisesti. Tässä mielessä Hautala on lähempänä vaikkapa James Herbertiä kuin Kingiä tai John Ajvide Lindqvistiä. Yhteisöäkin kyllä rakennetaan, mutta ohuesti ja helposti tunnistettavien luokka-ja etnisten erojen varaan. Usein Kuokkamummo vaikuttaa enemmän elokuvakäsikirjoitukselta kuin kirjalta, mikä tekee siitä sujuvan ja kauhullaan painostavan, mutta pinnallisen.
Joka tapauksessa hieno uusi tuttavuus ja varmasti tutustun seuraavaankin Hautalan teokseen.
Somewhere between horror, folk lore and social commentary, set deep in the quiet back waters of northern Finland, THE BLACK TONGUE is a book that will stay with you for a lot of reasons.
Not being much of a fan of horror stories, it's hard to explain why this book appealed in the first place. Perhaps it is that concept of Scandinavian folk lore, to this reader's mind a kind of ramped up Grimms' Fairy Tales. Perhaps it was simply the idea that there is always an unexplained lurking evil - the boogie man or the bunyip - that's designed to keep kids in line and give them a bit of a good old fashioned scare into the bargain. So who or what was the legend of Granny Hatchet all about was extremely intriguing.
As Maisa Riipinen and Samuel Autio return to the place of their childhood, their shared pasts are revealed. Coming from the same place - both these adults have a different background - Samuel is the child of one of the refugee families who moved into the area, Maisa is from more local stock. When they were children together, the legend of Granny Hatchet was well known, delivered as a part of a ritual gathering, frightening yet creating a childish bond. Until one young girl leaves the secret circle and Samuel and Maisa are left with their own secret kept until now. Will their coming together again in the place of their childhood mean that the secret is finally revealed?
The narrative timeline of THE BLACK TONGUE switches between the childhood period - and the disappearance of the young girl - and the current day. Switching backwards and forwards abruptly at times there's a sense of unease and constant disruption as a result. That is echoed somehow in the reasons for these two returning after all these years. Maisa for the purposes of research has a clarity about her that matches the childhood observations. Samuel is back to arrange his father's funeral and his sad and reflective rummage around in his past and present seems to match the current day experience much better. It's always clear that there has been a secret past, but how that will be revealed - or if it will be - and what an increasing number of disconnected characters will have to do with it all, becomes complicated and oddly chaotic.
What THE BLACK TONGUE does deliver in spades is a wonderfully atmospheric sense of place and time. Dark, dank and moody, the setting for this story comes across as absolutely perfect horror territory. When staying with the main themes there's an overwhelming feeling of knowing the two main characters, of understanding their struggles and their imperfections, despite the fact that the legend of Granny Hatchet does seem to disappear from view surprisingly quickly. Where it seems to fall down, is when it wanders off into disconnected, almost surreal territory for no apparent reason.
Which could be the part that stays with you (personally I'm still mildly baffled by proceedings on a small island nobody is supposed to visit) or it could be the age-old problem of kids struggling to make sense of odd things that happen to them, or the life-long affect of guilt. Regardless of what it is that stays with you, nobody could ever accuse THE BLACK TONGUE of being expected reading.
https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/review-black-tongue-marko-hautala
Not being much of a fan of horror stories, it's hard to explain why this book appealed in the first place. Perhaps it is that concept of Scandinavian folk lore, to this reader's mind a kind of ramped up Grimms' Fairy Tales. Perhaps it was simply the idea that there is always an unexplained lurking evil - the boogie man or the bunyip - that's designed to keep kids in line and give them a bit of a good old fashioned scare into the bargain. So who or what was the legend of Granny Hatchet all about was extremely intriguing.
As Maisa Riipinen and Samuel Autio return to the place of their childhood, their shared pasts are revealed. Coming from the same place - both these adults have a different background - Samuel is the child of one of the refugee families who moved into the area, Maisa is from more local stock. When they were children together, the legend of Granny Hatchet was well known, delivered as a part of a ritual gathering, frightening yet creating a childish bond. Until one young girl leaves the secret circle and Samuel and Maisa are left with their own secret kept until now. Will their coming together again in the place of their childhood mean that the secret is finally revealed?
The narrative timeline of THE BLACK TONGUE switches between the childhood period - and the disappearance of the young girl - and the current day. Switching backwards and forwards abruptly at times there's a sense of unease and constant disruption as a result. That is echoed somehow in the reasons for these two returning after all these years. Maisa for the purposes of research has a clarity about her that matches the childhood observations. Samuel is back to arrange his father's funeral and his sad and reflective rummage around in his past and present seems to match the current day experience much better. It's always clear that there has been a secret past, but how that will be revealed - or if it will be - and what an increasing number of disconnected characters will have to do with it all, becomes complicated and oddly chaotic.
What THE BLACK TONGUE does deliver in spades is a wonderfully atmospheric sense of place and time. Dark, dank and moody, the setting for this story comes across as absolutely perfect horror territory. When staying with the main themes there's an overwhelming feeling of knowing the two main characters, of understanding their struggles and their imperfections, despite the fact that the legend of Granny Hatchet does seem to disappear from view surprisingly quickly. Where it seems to fall down, is when it wanders off into disconnected, almost surreal territory for no apparent reason.
Which could be the part that stays with you (personally I'm still mildly baffled by proceedings on a small island nobody is supposed to visit) or it could be the age-old problem of kids struggling to make sense of odd things that happen to them, or the life-long affect of guilt. Regardless of what it is that stays with you, nobody could ever accuse THE BLACK TONGUE of being expected reading.
https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/review-black-tongue-marko-hautala
Hautala on loistava. Kuokkamummo on loistava. Eri aikojen ja näkökulmien välillä liikutaan sujuvasti. Niistä jokainen pysyy yhtä kiinnostavana läpi kirjan. Luin syksyllä Leväluhdan ja näissä kahdessa on sopivasti samaa fiilistä, mutta myös omia piirteitä. Kaiken kaikkiaan todella vangitseva ja hieno lukukokemus.
En muista, milloin viimeksi olisin lukenut varsinaisesti kauhukirjan ja olen aina ajatellut, että se ei ole se minun genreni. Tähän kuitenkin tartuin, kun sitä niin monesta suunnasta kehuttiin. Pitäisi varmaan lukea genreä enemmänkin, sen verran voimakkaasti tämä vei mukanaan. Kuokkamummo oli pakko lukea yhdessä illassa/yössä.
Romaani perustuu sinänsä yksinkertaiseen mutta kiinnostavaan, vanhaan urbaanilegendaan lapsia tappavasta "kuokkamummosta". Tämän legendan ympärille kudotaan kirjassa monenlaisia kohtaloita monessa eri aikatasossa. Hyytävä tunnelma ja jännittävä juoni pakotti lukemaan jatkuvasti lisää, vaikka olisi pitänyt jo nukkua... Välillä tosin juoni tuntui vähän karkaavan käsistä, enkä aina tiennyt, miten lukemaani olisi pitänyt suhtautua. Ehdottoman taitavaa ja viihdyttävää kuitenkin! Taidanpa lukea lisää Hautalaa!
( Ps. Yksittäisenä yksityiskohtana tykkäsin myös siitä, kuinka varsin makaaberin tarinan lomassa välillä luettiin ja siteerattiin Leinoa ja Koskenniemeä! )
Romaani perustuu sinänsä yksinkertaiseen mutta kiinnostavaan, vanhaan urbaanilegendaan lapsia tappavasta "kuokkamummosta". Tämän legendan ympärille kudotaan kirjassa monenlaisia kohtaloita monessa eri aikatasossa. Hyytävä tunnelma ja jännittävä juoni pakotti lukemaan jatkuvasti lisää, vaikka olisi pitänyt jo nukkua... Välillä tosin juoni tuntui vähän karkaavan käsistä, enkä aina tiennyt, miten lukemaani olisi pitänyt suhtautua. Ehdottoman taitavaa ja viihdyttävää kuitenkin! Taidanpa lukea lisää Hautalaa!
( Ps. Yksittäisenä yksityiskohtana tykkäsin myös siitä, kuinka varsin makaaberin tarinan lomassa välillä luettiin ja siteerattiin Leinoa ja Koskenniemeä! )
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
dark
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
No
I canNOT get into this book and I am so disappointed! I waited for this book for months--- and when ILL tracked it down I was so excited. I am not sure if it was the translation or the story that was a problem, but this is story was all over the place and after 80 pages I didn't feel connected to any of the characters...nor was I able to follow where the story line was leading me.
So disappointed!
So disappointed!
BLUF: This is a worthwhile read, but contains some odd (but infrequent) sexual content.
**I was provided a copy of this book from netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review**
Plot: The Black Tongue surrounds a neighborhood‰ЫЄs urban legend. The story is intertwined around a few different individuals. We follow a young girl who is being introduced to the legend for the first time, an older woman who remembers the story from her childhood and decides to return to her hometown to write about the legend, and an older man (grew up with the woman) who returns to the neighborhood after the death of his father and reminisces on his childhood.
Pre-warning!: The first chapter is told from a teen‰ЫЄs point of view and IS NOT reflective on how the book is written. Please, trudge through it ‰ЫТ it‰ЫЄs worth it.
Let‰ЫЄs start with the good‰Ы_: I can‰ЫЄt tell you how good of a job the translator did against the original, but the story here flowed as if it was originally written in English, with the obvious exceptions of Finnish names. I didn‰ЫЄt struggle to read through the translation at all.
It‰ЫЄs interesting to see how everything ties together. At first, it really makes no sense on why we are following these different people, but it becomes much more complex as the story continues. I adore the story for this.
Another plus is that this book scared me. I‰ЫЄll admit, I am a wimp, but I haven‰ЫЄt read a book that scared me in a while. This one did it. I slept with the light on for a couple nights.
‰Ы_and then the bad: Awkward, awkward sexual moments. I‰ЫЄm not a fan of sexual moments anyways, but the ones in this book were exceptional strange.
Oh, and here is the stuff that doesn‰ЫЄt matter, but I‰ЫЄm going to tell you about anyways: The translator changed a few names to be English, but not the majority. I can only assume it is because, at one point, the book refers to Samuel being named after the Bible. It would have made more sense to change all or change none, IMO.
**I was provided a copy of this book from netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review**
Plot: The Black Tongue surrounds a neighborhood‰ЫЄs urban legend. The story is intertwined around a few different individuals. We follow a young girl who is being introduced to the legend for the first time, an older woman who remembers the story from her childhood and decides to return to her hometown to write about the legend, and an older man (grew up with the woman) who returns to the neighborhood after the death of his father and reminisces on his childhood.
Pre-warning!: The first chapter is told from a teen‰ЫЄs point of view and IS NOT reflective on how the book is written. Please, trudge through it ‰ЫТ it‰ЫЄs worth it.
Let‰ЫЄs start with the good‰Ы_: I can‰ЫЄt tell you how good of a job the translator did against the original, but the story here flowed as if it was originally written in English, with the obvious exceptions of Finnish names. I didn‰ЫЄt struggle to read through the translation at all.
It‰ЫЄs interesting to see how everything ties together. At first, it really makes no sense on why we are following these different people, but it becomes much more complex as the story continues. I adore the story for this.
Another plus is that this book scared me. I‰ЫЄll admit, I am a wimp, but I haven‰ЫЄt read a book that scared me in a while. This one did it. I slept with the light on for a couple nights.
‰Ы_and then the bad: Awkward, awkward sexual moments. I‰ЫЄm not a fan of sexual moments anyways, but the ones in this book were exceptional strange.
Oh, and here is the stuff that doesn‰ЫЄt matter, but I‰ЫЄm going to tell you about anyways: The translator changed a few names to be English, but not the majority. I can only assume it is because, at one point, the book refers to Samuel being named after the Bible. It would have made more sense to change all or change none, IMO.
Kdybych knihu měla popsat pouze jedním slovem, byla by…matoucí. Bába Motyka není tím, čím se na první pohled zdá. Ale některé věci nemusíte pochopit, abyste si je mohli užít Přirovnání ke Kingovi není tak docela přesné. Styl psaní a vývoj příběhu je srovnatelný spíše s Lutzem. Bába Motyka má něco do sebe, škoda té tajemnosti a zahalování. Kdyby děj měl jasnější konec, ve stylu duchařských příběhů /bububu, flashback, investigace, vysvětlení, pochopení, tadá konec/ , přidala bych o hvězdičku víc.
Moje recenze na Fantasyi: http://fantasya.cz/clanek/baba-motyka-si-jde-pro-vsechny-kteri-maji-odvahu-vyslovit-jeji-jmeno
Moje recenze na Fantasyi: http://fantasya.cz/clanek/baba-motyka-si-jde-pro-vsechny-kteri-maji-odvahu-vyslovit-jeji-jmeno