The Year of the Hare

"Paasilinna has been amusing Finns for thirty years and readers in twenty-five languages."

"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."

"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."

"Paasilinna's style is all Finn--a sly sense of humor, a simplicity, a moral compass that points firmly north and out of doors, away from cities...Readers root for Vatanen as he leaps off the mad merry-go-round."

"A fable of the joys of freedom...The hare proves to be a delightful, undemanding, and loyal companion, who can laugh, listen, and feel embarrassment."

"Amazing...It can be read over a long winter afternoon and will leave you feeling a little warmer inside."

"Compelling...You might just find yourself wishing for a hare to enter your life in the near future."

"Step out of the domestic gulag and into The Year of the Hare, a novel that depicts the confident freedom of the journeyman. I loved it."

"I love The Year of the Hare...Which of us wouldn't secretly want to live in a novel as fresh and as full of events as this one?"

"Escapism at its best...Just pure fun--a fantasy of what might happen if one day you just said, 'Oh, the hell with it.'"