This past week, I read two very different books that took place in #Finland. The second was The Year of the Hare, by Arto Paasilinna.
First published in 1995, this novel was set in modern times and was a very clever, imaginative and fun read!
At the beginning, we are introduced to two men - a journalist and a photographer - on assignment, driving down a road in a wooded area. Suddenly, the photographer, who is driving, accidentally hits a hare. Slightly shaken, but not overly bothered, he stops the vehicle for a moment. The journalist is much more alarmed, and jumps from the vehicle and runs into the woods after the presumably injured animal. He can't find it right away but feels compelled to follow it as long as he can. The photographer gets out of the vehicle to tell his colleague to let it go - that they should get on the road, but his colleague can't be found. He looks for him for a bit, but even shouting into the woods, he can't find him. He waits for a while, but then, not knowing what to do, he gets frustrated, and gets back in the car and drives away. He later worries that maybe his co-worker is hurt, and goes back to look, but he can't find him.
The journalist, meanwhile, found the hare in the woods. His leg is injured, so he braces it, and sticks the hare in the front of his jacket to help nurse him back to health. Something seems to snap in the man, and he realizes how unhappy he is in general. He figures out how to quit his job; leave his wife; sell his boat to his friend from afar; and he takes off for a life of adventure with his new friend - the hare.
As far-fetched as many of the scenarios the man and the hare find themselves in are, the writing of this book is very accessible and it makes this a quick, light and fun read. Paasilinna is very clever and imaginative and it is easy to understand why he is one of Finland's most popular authors today.
I very much recommend this book - I really enjoyed it!
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