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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
“I sometimes think about death, but even thinking about it is all but impossible - especially your own death. A second later I’m thinking about something different altogether: today’s shopping list, the business’s outgoings”. P9
Antti Tuomainen is touted as the King of Finnish Noir, and having read a number of his books I would have to say I agree. Mind you, I’ve read very few Finnish authors so I don’t have much to compare with but as far as the Scandi Noir authors I’ve read, Tuomainen is certainly up there with the best in a genre that he has added his own unique flavour to.
The Man Who Died is a dark, comedic, and slightly absurd story centring around Jaako Kaunismaa, a successful mushroom entrepreneur. Not knowing much about mushroom harvesting, in particular the sought after matsutake mushroom, naturally I was compelled to do a little research, soon realising that this mushroom is an absolute delicacy, has fetched extraordinarily high prices, and is found in Finnish pine forests among other places around the world.
The story starts with Jaako receiving the news that he has been poisoned unwittingly by various toxins and that he has days to live. This had slight echoes for me of Paulo Coelho’s Veronica Wants to Die, albeit a very different story. There are many moment of reflection on what it is like to approach your own death, but certainly not in the usual way this notion is written about or featured in movies. I found some of the paragraphs quite poignant and I wrote lots of them down.
Without spoiling the plot Jaako becomes aware that his poisoning is not accidental and this propels him on an investigation that soon becomes entwined completely in the mushroom industry, his personal life and his work community.
An invigorating read, a few laughs along the way along with many sobering moments written in Toumainen’s minimalistic, present moment and provocative style. Loved it. 4.5 stars.
Antti Tuomainen is touted as the King of Finnish Noir, and having read a number of his books I would have to say I agree. Mind you, I’ve read very few Finnish authors so I don’t have much to compare with but as far as the Scandi Noir authors I’ve read, Tuomainen is certainly up there with the best in a genre that he has added his own unique flavour to.
The Man Who Died is a dark, comedic, and slightly absurd story centring around Jaako Kaunismaa, a successful mushroom entrepreneur. Not knowing much about mushroom harvesting, in particular the sought after matsutake mushroom, naturally I was compelled to do a little research, soon realising that this mushroom is an absolute delicacy, has fetched extraordinarily high prices, and is found in Finnish pine forests among other places around the world.
The story starts with Jaako receiving the news that he has been poisoned unwittingly by various toxins and that he has days to live. This had slight echoes for me of Paulo Coelho’s Veronica Wants to Die, albeit a very different story. There are many moment of reflection on what it is like to approach your own death, but certainly not in the usual way this notion is written about or featured in movies. I found some of the paragraphs quite poignant and I wrote lots of them down.
Without spoiling the plot Jaako becomes aware that his poisoning is not accidental and this propels him on an investigation that soon becomes entwined completely in the mushroom industry, his personal life and his work community.
An invigorating read, a few laughs along the way along with many sobering moments written in Toumainen’s minimalistic, present moment and provocative style. Loved it. 4.5 stars.
на самому початку роману головний герой — експортер найкращих у фінляндії грибів мацутаке* — дізнається, що його отруїли.
не в сенсі «ось вам антидот, і промиймо шлунок про всяк випадок», а в сенсі «вас так давно годують отрутою, що органи почали відмовляти, то ось вам трошки знеболювальних і телефон психолога». але герой іде не до психолога, а додому, до коханої дружини, яка посеред робочого дня не те щоб його чекає, а скоріше навпаки.
після такої зав'язки здається, що ясно не тільки whodunit, а й howdunit, і треба лише дорозплутувати більш-менш очевидне whydunit, мимохідь вигадавши яку-небудь вишукану помсту, — але, звісно, все заплутаніше й феєричніше, ніж на перший погляд. і гриби для сюжету вкрай важливі, проте не так, як можна подумати.
гумор тут вугільно-чорний і градус абсурду викручений, як ми любимо; навіть нагод погигикати про «яке прикре самогубство» є далеко не одна. перші двісті сторінок відволікають від сну, роботи й чищення зубів. але автор так натхненно розкладає оселедці різних відтінків червоного, що наприкінці просто не встигає їх позбирати, тож у фіналі залишається купа непояснених збігів. шкода, страх як шкода.
*аааа, ви бачили в українській вікіпедії ілюстрацію до пункту «практичне застосування» у статті про мацутаке? редактори — бóгі.
не в сенсі «ось вам антидот, і промиймо шлунок про всяк випадок», а в сенсі «вас так давно годують отрутою, що органи почали відмовляти, то ось вам трошки знеболювальних і телефон психолога». але герой іде не до психолога, а додому, до коханої дружини, яка посеред робочого дня не те щоб його чекає, а скоріше навпаки.
після такої зав'язки здається, що ясно не тільки whodunit, а й howdunit, і треба лише дорозплутувати більш-менш очевидне whydunit, мимохідь вигадавши яку-небудь вишукану помсту, — але, звісно, все заплутаніше й феєричніше, ніж на перший погляд. і гриби для сюжету вкрай важливі, проте не так, як можна подумати.
гумор тут вугільно-чорний і градус абсурду викручений, як ми любимо; навіть нагод погигикати про «яке прикре самогубство» є далеко не одна. перші двісті сторінок відволікають від сну, роботи й чищення зубів. але автор так натхненно розкладає оселедці різних відтінків червоного, що наприкінці просто не встигає їх позбирати, тож у фіналі залишається купа непояснених збігів. шкода, страх як шкода.
*аааа, ви бачили в українській вікіпедії ілюстрацію до пункту «практичне застосування» у статті про мацутаке? редактори — бóгі.
I know, color me surprised as well! I had no idea I would enjoy this book as much as I did. It was dark and hilarious, and because I was listening to it, I didn’t have to struggle with pronouncing names. I don’t think I’m a fan of Nordic Noir, but I was a fan of this book. It’s plot was so intriguing I was invested in mushrooms. And I hate mushrooms. Definitely a great novel to listen to.
I really did not like this book, although it was somewhat redeemed in my eyes following my book club's discussion of it.
I didn't think it was funny from the get-go, and once I was in that mindset, it was hard to get out of it (although there were still a couple of moments that made me chuckle). My favorite parts were the more serious reflections on death, where the reader aligns with Jaakko, who believes he will die imminently. I can also see how some of this might be funnier for people who are at a life stage far from death (or maybe really close to it), but instead plenty of parts felt poignant to me - Jaakko is constantly eating ice cream and drinking Coke, and that did make me think about people close to death who have a hard time eating anything that requires chewing.
Anyway, my least favorite part of the book were the gender dynamics. Jaakko constantly comports himself imagining that women are sizing him up, I guess because he is always checking out women. At least there was a bit of a payoff. He seems more angry at his wife for her affair than for her apparent attempted murder.
I think the author was trying to play around with the murder mystery/noir format, but it didn't work for me.
I didn't think it was funny from the get-go, and once I was in that mindset, it was hard to get out of it (although there were still a couple of moments that made me chuckle). My favorite parts were the more serious reflections on death, where the reader aligns with Jaakko, who believes he will die imminently. I can also see how some of this might be funnier for people who are at a life stage far from death (or maybe really close to it), but instead plenty of parts felt poignant to me - Jaakko is constantly eating ice cream and drinking Coke, and that did make me think about people close to death who have a hard time eating anything that requires chewing.
Anyway, my least favorite part of the book were the gender dynamics. Jaakko constantly comports himself imagining that women are sizing him up, I guess because he is always checking out women. At least there was a bit of a payoff
Spoiler
when the poisoning turns out to be from cookies he's eaten, after all of his concern about his weightI think the author was trying to play around with the murder mystery/noir format, but it didn't work for me.
I have not read any books from Antti Tuomainen before and this one surprised me. It was dark, witty with some dry humour and I laughed out loud several times. It’s odd considering that the book tells the story of a dying man and the genre is more or less Thriller or Nordic noir.
The main character disturbed me a little. He was emotionless, or seemed so as he did not actually reacted to anything. The writer told us how he felt, but I could not feel the emotion. Same goes with his actions that make no sense and I wondered several times the why’s in this books as it seemed so absurd time to time. There are no explanations to the illogical things in this book and I have come to understand that it is supposed to be like that.
The story itself is great to read and it has a good tempo so I was not bored at all even if I did not understand everything.
I will definitely read more books from Antti Tuomainen in the future and I recommend this book to everyone who does not take life too seriously and likes to read books from Nordic writers.
The main character disturbed me a little. He was emotionless, or seemed so as he did not actually reacted to anything. The writer told us how he felt, but I could not feel the emotion. Same goes with his actions that make no sense and I wondered several times the why’s in this books as it seemed so absurd time to time. There are no explanations to the illogical things in this book and I have come to understand that it is supposed to be like that.
The story itself is great to read and it has a good tempo so I was not bored at all even if I did not understand everything.
I will definitely read more books from Antti Tuomainen in the future and I recommend this book to everyone who does not take life too seriously and likes to read books from Nordic writers.
dark
funny
fast-paced
I think the translation of this Finnish mystery left out some of the more interesting or important or funny idioms, but it was a fun premise. The man character finds out he is dying b.c he has been poisoned and sets out to find out how this happened. He’s a mushroom farmer entrepreneur, and he has competitors. Farcical deaths and chaos ensue.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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:
Complicated
This is an oddly entertaining and satisfying murder mystery—the victim performing his own investigation to find his murderer while trying to save his organic mushroom business against a fierce competitor in this quiet Finnish hamlet. Jaakko has been poisoned over a long period of time such that he became used to it while it damaged all of his internal organs. He’s on borrowed time. And does he ever make use of it. There are only two suspects but the ending is still a big surprise. And he has only one real goal other than seeing his murderer come to justice—saving his little business, a full time job given the snazzy new mushroom business down the road with its spanking new equipment and outbidding all his employees to come work there. While not rollicking funny it’s truly entertaining. I found myself rooting for Jaakko even when he wasn’t making the best decisions. Will he survive? Sadly no. He really is the victim of a murder. But before he goes, he’s going to take care of business. I’d really like to read more by this author if his books have been translated and made available in the US.