Recently divorced and broken, postman Ilmari made a promise to his daughter to buy her a piano for Christmas. Six days to go, a promise and no money. But a promise is a promise and as he got a last minute offer to transport a luxurious sofa from Helsinki, he may be finally courtship by luck. Until he - and his long lost school friend who unexpectedly joined his adventure - noticed being followed by some guys with no sense of humour and guns. And the sofa may hide some unexpected bloody secrets - literally.
Antti Tuomainen´s The Winter Job translated from Finnish by David Hackston and published by Orenda Books is a tragi-comical noir fully packed ´on the road´ novel - with a sofa. The book abunds in very specific details describing places and characters, from the spots on their shirts to the games of the Finnish geography. It helps the reader to imagine the described situations and characters in the most relatable way. This is one of the greatest merits of the translation who convened this sense of reality from one language to another.
Now you laugh out hard, few pages later you are thinking deep about the meaning of some philosophical exchange of the characters, while trying to escape their followers. A thriller that will make you laugh to tears, with common characters brought by fate in the most incredible situations.
The Cold War-related references - the action of the book takes place at the beginning of the 1980s - were also relevant for my political science interests, as it shows at what extent geopolitical events affect the everyday life of average people.
The Winter Job is a recommended read if you are looking for a thriller pushing the literary limits of the genre in a humorous way never tried it before. I can easily see a movie inspired by this book.
Rating: 4 stars
Disclaimer: Book offered as part of the book tour but the opinions are, as usual, my own
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