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A review by anca_m
The Howling Miller by Arto Paasilinna
4.0
I read an enthusiastic review to this book, so I was pretty much influenced; I am vulnerable when the person that's recommending it is someone I trust.
Putting that aside, I'll try to put down a few ideas in a coherent way:
This book shouldn't be taken very seriously. It's a little satirical, as it's mentioned on the 4th cover of my edition. There's a lot of banter here. The church, the mental institutions, the police, the bank, the society-they're all joshed more or less.
The relativity of mental health is highlighted - the miller has some strange habits belonging to his nature. It's just that weird thing everyone has (every person that's interesting, I mean). Except his 'little thing' is very loud: he likes howling towards the moon.
There are a bunch of situations that make the amusement of the reader. examples: the miller thinks the winner of an athletics competition is the photographer that got to the finnish line the 2nd; one roommate from the psihiatry institute is there for 10 years pretending he's lunatic in order to get away from enroling to war, a lazy fat woman pretending she's paralytic in order to lay around all day that suddenly finds strenght in her legs when it's not favourable for her to be an invalid & lots more. (don't want to spoil the fun)
The writing is plain, but simple, the main character - Gunnar Huttunen - has this unique personality (and honestly, after you read many books, you begin to forget the names, the specific and the thing the author tries to get to you-and i don't think it's our fault only). He has a naive side - specific to a simple man, and that side keeps him from being a danger for the village, he's hard-working, smart and gentle.
And there's Sanelma horticulture counselor. Her passionate love for Huttunen is simple (only from this point, she's already majorly different from most women in literature), this simplicity is perfectly captured by the author, not at all pathetic, it kindles sympathy. As a matter of fact, their entire relationship is endearing.
The villagers, the miller's neighbours, go from being surprised and intrigued by his nature to being afraid and considering him a real danger for the society, though they unconsciously accept that in their other neighbours and that's the irony here; goes to show the true human nature.
In the end, I'm not sure if we discover the secret the miller has that causes his ups and downs in the mood (at the beginning of the novel) that makes the villagers so intrigued and still, so curious.
Putting that aside, I'll try to put down a few ideas in a coherent way:
This book shouldn't be taken very seriously. It's a little satirical, as it's mentioned on the 4th cover of my edition. There's a lot of banter here. The church, the mental institutions, the police, the bank, the society-they're all joshed more or less.
The relativity of mental health is highlighted - the miller has some strange habits belonging to his nature. It's just that weird thing everyone has (every person that's interesting, I mean). Except his 'little thing' is very loud: he likes howling towards the moon.
There are a bunch of situations that make the amusement of the reader. examples: the miller thinks the winner of an athletics competition is the photographer that got to the finnish line the 2nd; one roommate from the psihiatry institute is there for 10 years pretending he's lunatic in order to get away from enroling to war, a lazy fat woman pretending she's paralytic in order to lay around all day that suddenly finds strenght in her legs when it's not favourable for her to be an invalid & lots more. (don't want to spoil the fun)
The writing is plain, but simple, the main character - Gunnar Huttunen - has this unique personality (and honestly, after you read many books, you begin to forget the names, the specific and the thing the author tries to get to you-and i don't think it's our fault only). He has a naive side - specific to a simple man, and that side keeps him from being a danger for the village, he's hard-working, smart and gentle.
And there's Sanelma horticulture counselor. Her passionate love for Huttunen is simple (only from this point, she's already majorly different from most women in literature), this simplicity is perfectly captured by the author, not at all pathetic, it kindles sympathy. As a matter of fact, their entire relationship is endearing.
The villagers, the miller's neighbours, go from being surprised and intrigued by his nature to being afraid and considering him a real danger for the society, though they unconsciously accept that in their other neighbours and that's the irony here; goes to show the true human nature.
In the end, I'm not sure if we discover the secret the miller has that causes his ups and downs in the mood (at the beginning of the novel) that makes the villagers so intrigued and still, so curious.