AUDIOBOOK
About
Vatanen, a journalist, is feeling burned out and sick of the city. One summer evening, he and a photographer set out on an assignment, and as they drive through the country, the car hits a young hare. Vatanen leaves the car to save the injured creature, and the grateful animal adopts him. This small incident becomes a turning point in Vatanen's life as he decides to break free from the world's constraints. He quits his job, leaves his wife, and sells his possessions to travel the Finnish wilds with his newfound friend. During their farcical adventures they encounter forest fires, pagan sacrifices, military war games, killer bears, political scandals, and much more.
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Reviews
"Paasilinna has been amusing Finns for thirty years and readers in twenty-five languages."
New York Times
"His protagonists…are like Vatanen, strong-some very strong-eccentric and often loners. He makes sardonic fun of Finnish bureaucrats, German tourists, the Finnish military and selfish young people."
New York Times
"When Mr. Paasilinna's novel appears in this country for the first time next month, it might just prove the perfect way into the actual Year of the Hare, which begins, according to many an Eastern calendar, in January."
Wall Street Journal