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josu_zyroshi 's review for:
The Year of the Hare
by Arto Paasilinna
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
The Year of the Hare is a book I'm a bit conflicted about, and the translation work done upon it certainly doesn't help, let me explain:
The story spans 1 year and follows Vatanen, a middle aged man who leaves his ordinary life in Helsinki after hitting a hare with his car and goes into the wilderness where he lives all kinds of adventures. Now, the story I have to say is what I've enjoyed the most, it is merely escapism re-told, yet doesn't push that idea, nor does it idolize it. I think its purpose was to just illustrate what could happen if we just stopped holding to our (sometimes damaging) attachments, not so much what we should do. The book focuses on the concept of freedom, and as such, does not try to push anything onto the reader, which makes it really enjoyable unlike some other escapism works which feel like some sort of propaganda, even.
However, although I've thoroughly enjoyed it, I can totally understand how some people may dislike it. There's several things which are not everyone's cup of tea, though I wouldn't say they're necessarily downright bad elements. For starters, and regardless of what this website says, the book is extremely fast-paced. It feels chaotic sometimes, and often even reads like a collection of short stories instead of a bigger overarching story, making it feel aimless (though one could argue that's the entire point). Then, there's the characters and setting, they are remarkably Scandinavian/Nordic. From the character's behavior, to the humor within the book, to the wilderness that serves as a backdrop for the entire story. All of them feel significantly Finnish, and all of them can be lost between cultures(i.e. seeming like the characters behave erratically because no one would act that way in our society).
Lastly I have to mention the awful work done on the translations of this book into English. Obviously, I can't be sure how the book is written in its original language, since I don't speak Finnish, but nonetheless, the word-choice for the translations always feels odd. You have colloquial and pretty low register vocabulary for the vast majority of the book (maybe even 90% or so). Yet for some reason, it sometimes jumps into the stratosphere in terms of register and uses extremely formal and obscure vocabulary in some parts, only to drop back again into low register the next sentence. It wasn't the case for me that the translation completely broke my experience reading the book, but it certainly made it more difficult and less enjoyable.
In conclusion, for me it was a totally enjoyable and overall wholesome experience, it made me feel warm inside, like some sort of nostalgia but without any of it, I also really enjoy stories you can't predict and this is definitely one of them. But again, I can totally understand how this does not hit the mark for so many people, making me hesitant as to whether I recommend it or not. I supposed I'd recommend this book only to those that really enjoy nature and escapism, and wouldn't be surprised by the Nordic society and customs. That's as much of an answer I can really give.
The story spans 1 year and follows Vatanen, a middle aged man who leaves his ordinary life in Helsinki after hitting a hare with his car and goes into the wilderness where he lives all kinds of adventures. Now, the story I have to say is what I've enjoyed the most, it is merely escapism re-told, yet doesn't push that idea, nor does it idolize it. I think its purpose was to just illustrate what could happen if we just stopped holding to our (sometimes damaging) attachments, not so much what we should do. The book focuses on the concept of freedom, and as such, does not try to push anything onto the reader, which makes it really enjoyable unlike some other escapism works which feel like some sort of propaganda, even.
However, although I've thoroughly enjoyed it, I can totally understand how some people may dislike it. There's several things which are not everyone's cup of tea, though I wouldn't say they're necessarily downright bad elements. For starters, and regardless of what this website says, the book is extremely fast-paced. It feels chaotic sometimes, and often even reads like a collection of short stories instead of a bigger overarching story, making it feel aimless (though one could argue that's the entire point). Then, there's the characters and setting, they are remarkably Scandinavian/Nordic. From the character's behavior, to the humor within the book, to the wilderness that serves as a backdrop for the entire story. All of them feel significantly Finnish, and all of them can be lost between cultures(i.e. seeming like the characters behave erratically because no one would act that way in our society).
Lastly I have to mention the awful work done on the translations of this book into English. Obviously, I can't be sure how the book is written in its original language, since I don't speak Finnish, but nonetheless, the word-choice for the translations always feels odd. You have colloquial and pretty low register vocabulary for the vast majority of the book (maybe even 90% or so). Yet for some reason, it sometimes jumps into the stratosphere in terms of register and uses extremely formal and obscure vocabulary in some parts, only to drop back again into low register the next sentence. It wasn't the case for me that the translation completely broke my experience reading the book, but it certainly made it more difficult and less enjoyable.
In conclusion, for me it was a totally enjoyable and overall wholesome experience, it made me feel warm inside, like some sort of nostalgia but without any of it, I also really enjoy stories you can't predict and this is definitely one of them. But again, I can totally understand how this does not hit the mark for so many people, making me hesitant as to whether I recommend it or not. I supposed I'd recommend this book only to those that really enjoy nature and escapism, and wouldn't be surprised by the Nordic society and customs. That's as much of an answer I can really give.