Breathe To Read

Breathe To Read

Wednesday, May 8, 2019

Read The World - Finland - The Year Of The Hare

Book: The Year Of The Hare
Author: Arto Paasilinna
Pages: 182
Book takes place in the country: YES
Author is from the country: YES
I have visited: NO


This is my 59th read of the year.  I finished this one as an audiobook.

Finland is on our short list while we live in Europe.  My daugher, Finley, thinks she needs to visit because "Fin" is in her name.  Works for me.



This is a story about Vatanen, a Finnish journalist who one day hits a hare with his car on his way home from work. He goes after the hare and this leads to an adventure with him and the animal.  They travel all over Finland and Vatanen plays many different parts and meets a lot of people along the way.  The whole time, the Hare remains his constant companion.  Vatanen has left his wife, but he has discovered that he likes living on his own - likes living in the moment.  He is on a wild adventure that involves lots of snow (of course), reinder and even a bear.  Every person that Vatenen encounters says something about human nature - that living a simple life isn't so simple.

This was a pretty good book.  It was what I would consider quirky.  There were a few parts where I chuckled.  It is a little all over the place, but the hare did help keep the central focus of the story in line for me.  I could picture the scenery of Finland while I read, and could imagine the deep north and what it must have looked like.  

It is a short novel, that might be something you would try if you found it in the library.  I think for now I will keep this one as my Finland book.

Stars: 3 1/2




1 comment:

  1. Oooh I like the sound of it but I'm not sure if I'd actually read it, still, it sounds super interesting and I'd never heard of it (shocking I know). Glad it got a few chuckles out of you, and hope the next destination is around the bend!

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