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A review by katiecatbooks
The Howling Miller by Arto Paasilinna
4.0
Finnish humor. Modern classic. Madness.
Story: One day in 1951 in Northern Finland, Gunnari Huttunen shows up to a small village and buys their dilapidated mill. No one knows his background but the whole village gets to know his depressive spells and wild moods. When he starts howling in the middle of the night keeping all his neighbors awake then problems start. The villagers want him to stay so they can use his mill but on the other hand they all find him quite mad.
Language: This book is a translation from the French translation of the Finnish. While clearly some things must be lost in a double translation, the story and humor still remain. The story is told in third person, mostly from Huttunen's perspective but occasionally side characters too. It is set post war and pre Olympics over many seasons. The landscape and nature play large roles as does the mindset and lifestyle of small-town villagers of the time. The tone is dark but also humorous. The lexile rating is quite low and makes a light read for an avid reader and an accessible read to even high schoolers.
Characters: Huttunen is tall, large, hard working and keeps mostly to himself and his mill. His social interactions cause problems when he goes too far imitating animals or communicating inappropriately.
I was surprised how accessible this book was and how much I enjoyed it. It was a fast read and had me laughing out loud and sympathizing with Huttunen and cheering him on as village underdog. The ending was abrupt and I think could have been better, but overall I really enjoyed this modern classic.
Story: One day in 1951 in Northern Finland, Gunnari Huttunen shows up to a small village and buys their dilapidated mill. No one knows his background but the whole village gets to know his depressive spells and wild moods. When he starts howling in the middle of the night keeping all his neighbors awake then problems start. The villagers want him to stay so they can use his mill but on the other hand they all find him quite mad.
Language: This book is a translation from the French translation of the Finnish. While clearly some things must be lost in a double translation, the story and humor still remain. The story is told in third person, mostly from Huttunen's perspective but occasionally side characters too. It is set post war and pre Olympics over many seasons. The landscape and nature play large roles as does the mindset and lifestyle of small-town villagers of the time. The tone is dark but also humorous. The lexile rating is quite low and makes a light read for an avid reader and an accessible read to even high schoolers.
Characters: Huttunen is tall, large, hard working and keeps mostly to himself and his mill. His social interactions cause problems when he goes too far imitating animals or communicating inappropriately.
I was surprised how accessible this book was and how much I enjoyed it. It was a fast read and had me laughing out loud and sympathizing with Huttunen and cheering him on as village underdog. The ending was abrupt and I think could have been better, but overall I really enjoyed this modern classic.