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3.47 AVERAGE
3.47 AVERAGE
Well this book was a trip! The Adventures of Vatanen it should’ve been called - the dude goes from one random story to another whilst traversing the length of Finland and highlighting its historical events. The book is random but would’ve been OK if it wasn’t for somewhat a lacklustre prose - it just didn’t connect with me, not sure if it’s the translation.
Un inno alla libertà, a fare ciò che si vuole. In linea con le persone e le atmosfere incontrate durante il mio viaggio in Finlandia.
just wasnt enjoying it much sorry mum and dad
A review of The Year of the Hare by Arto Paasilinna.
I found this book in the box of books in my English class. I don’t usually read Finnish authors translated into English but the cover caught my interest. My cover is a blue and yellow one with a black drawn hare. Anyways, I usually either read Finnish books in Finnish or foreign books translated into Finnish so this is very odd. But the fact that this is translated from Finnish shows in the prose. It is super obvious. English is just a super different language, it just doesn’t work. Either that or the translator didn’t do enough to make the transition smoother. The past tense is janky and odd and I imagine makes much more sense in Finnish. The flavour is definitely lost in translation. I tried to make it not take away from my enjoyment of the book but I imagine it definitely did factor into my thoughts at the end.
The book starts with our protagonist named Vatanen, a journalist, and his companion, a photographer hitting a hare with a car and then Vatanen nursing it back to health. He leaves his wife and job to be with the rabbit because he is dissatisfied with his life. He sells his boat and gets the money to travel around Finland. This story is definitely about the journey instead of the destination as he goes through many places meeting interesting people. People are interested in the hare and they interact with him and his furry companion, helping him out in taking care of it. He goes from Helsinki to all around Finland doing odd forestry jobs and other things. I missed some things because this was set in the 70s and I don’t know anything further than Kehä 3. Also, the ending was wild like WHAT. This whole book sounded like something someone could only come up with if they were drunk.
3.5 stars but rounded down.
Fun facts:
Apparently, my maths teacher likes this author. Wow, you learn something new every day.
I found this book in the box of books in my English class. I don’t usually read Finnish authors translated into English but the cover caught my interest. My cover is a blue and yellow one with a black drawn hare. Anyways, I usually either read Finnish books in Finnish or foreign books translated into Finnish so this is very odd. But the fact that this is translated from Finnish shows in the prose. It is super obvious. English is just a super different language, it just doesn’t work. Either that or the translator didn’t do enough to make the transition smoother. The past tense is janky and odd and I imagine makes much more sense in Finnish. The flavour is definitely lost in translation. I tried to make it not take away from my enjoyment of the book but I imagine it definitely did factor into my thoughts at the end.
The book starts with our protagonist named Vatanen, a journalist, and his companion, a photographer hitting a hare with a car and then Vatanen nursing it back to health. He leaves his wife and job to be with the rabbit because he is dissatisfied with his life. He sells his boat and gets the money to travel around Finland. This story is definitely about the journey instead of the destination as he goes through many places meeting interesting people. People are interested in the hare and they interact with him and his furry companion, helping him out in taking care of it. He goes from Helsinki to all around Finland doing odd forestry jobs and other things. I missed some things because this was set in the 70s and I don’t know anything further than Kehä 3. Also, the ending was wild like WHAT. This whole book sounded like something someone could only come up with if they were drunk.
3.5 stars but rounded down.
Fun facts:
Apparently, my maths teacher likes this author. Wow, you learn something new every day.
A weird, beautiful, wonderful, funny story that only gets a little dark toward the end. It flowed well until the point Vatenen, the main character, was going to have a sandwich with a professor. The next thing we know Vatenen's life has dramatically changed even more! Until that point Vatenen and his buddy the hare had led an interesting quest of just living free. It's a road trip book. It's an epiphany book. It's a funny story with very deep meanings. It's like Tim Cahill and Thoreau went on a walk in the woods over an entire country. It's a real shame more people don't know about this book. I'm going to have to see the movie now.
Una storia piuttosto inverosimile, e vagamente edificante, narrata con una scrittura piana, elementare. La fuga dalla civiltà di Vatanen si sviluppa attraverso una serie di episodi abbastanza scollegati fra loro, che mi hanno fatto pensare alla Pippi Calzelunghe della Lindgren.
L'intento di denuncia della insensatezza del modello di vita occidentale è piuttosto evidente, ma viene condotto con una ingenuità e una schematicità davvero eccessive.
Come possa essere considerato un libro di culto da lettori adulti è, per me, un mistero.
L'intento di denuncia della insensatezza del modello di vita occidentale è piuttosto evidente, ma viene condotto con una ingenuità e una schematicità davvero eccessive.
Come possa essere considerato un libro di culto da lettori adulti è, per me, un mistero.
adventurous
dark
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced