Random Things Tours: The Rabbit Factor by Antti Tuomainen (translated by David Hackston)

 

If spontaneously asked what I know about Finnish literature, I will modestly have two simple answers: The Mumins and Mika Waltari whose The Egyptian was a summer long topic of discussion with a bookish friend of mine who was fascinated by this author (me, partially, but I was in my first university year and was less patient with literature, being more interested in nonfiction, political theories and philosophy). But there is definitely much more on this, and only the lack of translations should be the reason why Finnland is so under represented in the literary realm nowadays. Plus, you don´t only hear about books translated from Finnish, but there are rare mentions about writers and styles and not even children books by Finnish authors.

The truth is that Finnish does not sound so far away from home for me, but only my laziness does. As a once fluent speaker of Hungarian that, again, only my laziness limited over years my vocabulary to just a couple of very basic words, it would have been a great start for learning the language. Yes, I am aware that the two languages are different, but as part of the Finno-Ugric family, there are at least some patterns and words that may be similar, enough to encourage me to abandon my procrastination and gain a new language - a new life, as they say - that may help me discover this neglected European literature. 

But there is a Gd of lazy language learners who made possible the meeting between original books and translators. This match made in the bookish Heaven, for me, was David Hackston (who also translated, among others, My Cat Yugoslavia) whose translation of The Rabbit Factor by Antti Tuomainen published by Orenda Books brought to my attention an author and a book, but what a book, which stands out of all the boxes. You know, those wonder boxes opening up by slightly touching the bottom, hard enough to generate a pressure for opening up the lid at the most unexpected moment in time. A pop-up rabbit box. 

´I resigned because I couldn´t stand watching my workplace turn into a playground. Then I inherited one´.

Henri Koskinen is a passionate mathematician working at an insurance company. As he does not want to comply with the happy hippy attitude of his boss - ´I cannot be part of a team whose highest ambition is going on a sushi-making weekend´ -, he is offered no other option but to leave. But that´s all for the good, as the same day, he found out that he inherited an amusemenet park, YouMeFun, left by his brother who unexpectedly died. But with the fun comes the responsibility as his estranged brother left behind impressive debts that he should pay it with no delay otherwise...it´s not sure what exactly will happen, but be ready for the worse.

If you still haven´t start laughing, maybe you need more tickle but actually those events are taking place at the very beginning of the story. What will follow is one episode after another of amazement, merriment, corpses in the fridge, some local Finnish mafia guys with a basic vocabulary of Italian for Mafia professionals. There is also a cat called Schopenhauer, a giant rabbit places at the entrance to the park, which may hide something as well, and Laura Helanto, which adds a bit of love to this crazy story.

A story which has tons of humour and many thriller twists and also romance. Isn´t it lovely to not be capable of labelling a book in a way or another? And if the book is not enough, there will be a motion picture soon, starring Steve Carell. 

Besides the hilarious situations and humorous yet very smart twists of what otherwise is a very serious thriller, the fast pace, whose details seems to be mathematically crafted, creates spectacular visual effects. While reading it, at a very fast pace because was very curious to know what happens next and then next and then next, I had the feeling that every single installment of the story has its place and its logic and everything closes up elegantly until the end. After all the Merry-Go-Round and Rollercoasting, the ending may sound a bit too relaxed and very unexpected, at least for me, but it makes sense and it has its place in the logic of the story unfolding. 

As for the characters, Henri Koskinen is my favorite, not only because he is a mathematician - I have a weakness for mathematicians, I may confess publicly - but also because he seems so real and complex and with a mind of his own. The other characters in the book are also lively and interesting and there is a good balance and diversity of personalities in the book. 

Hopefully, I will read soon another one of Tuomainen´s books, but first and foremost, can´t wait to watch The Rabbit Factor, the movie.

Rating: 4.5 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour, but the opinions are, as usual, my own