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The Year of The Hare
Author: Paasilinna, Arto
Review by Jennifer Ciotta
When it comes to having great knowledge about contemporary literature of Finland, most of us fall short. We cannot name one work by a Finnish author, living or dead, much less be able to pronounce the daunting language of our Nordic brethren. Places such as Lapland, Turku, Sompio or even Helsinki conjure images of a documentary once seen on the Travel Channel years before.
Arto Paasilinna, however, proves this Finland continues to exist in his contemporary novel The Year of the Hare, published in 1995 by Peter Owen and translated into English by Herbert Lomas. The book won accolades as a bestseller in both Finland and France, and gained the distinguished honor of being amongst the UNESCO Collection of Representative Works, which was founded in 1948 to promote the international translation, publication and distribution of national works that are representative of a country's literature and culture. Paasilinna writes from experience, since he was born in 1942 in Finland's Lapland, the most northern area of Europe, commonly known to outsiders for its most famous inhabitant, Santa Claus. Lapland, or Lappi (as in Finnish), encompasses the northern parts, around or above the Arctic Circle, of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. It is here that the Sami, or Native people, dwell along with wild reindeer and the spectacular Northern Lights, also known as the Aurora Borealis.
The Year of the Hare follows a journalist and a hare through the many seasons and towns in Finland, most notably setting the last remainder of the book in Lapland, among the bitter winter freeze. The journalist named Vatanen escapes the mundane and vacuous life of Helsinki as he runs after a hare who has been hit by the car of Vatanen's colleague, a photographer. As a passenger, Vatanen leaps out of the car, and scampers into the forest after the injured hare. Left in the woods by the photographer, Vatanen sets off on a year filled with mischievous and insightful adventures while caring for the wild creature. He tosses away married life, his job and even sells his beloved boat for easy cash in his pocket. Along the way, he survives by living and sleeping amongst nature--providing stunning details of the enigmatic Finnish countryside. Paasilinna's writing flows into a series of descriptive, environmental episodes for which the book has been recognized as an ecological novel. For example, the author simulates a forest fire:
It was a fairyland. Blazing trees illuminated the night on both sides of the brook -- huge red fluttering flowers. The heat was so scorching that while the fire lasted they had to stand in the brook: only their heads baked in the blazing glow. They had the vat of moonshine with them in the brook and tasted it liberally, watching with keen interest the destructive show of this wild natural superstar.
Perhaps the most exhilarating scenes of the novel stem from Paasilinna's ability to take the reader, uninterrupted, into Vatanen's mind and actions. The audience feels the sereneness of Lapland with Vatanen through his lovely days spent with a milkmaid, felling trees in the forest and stroking the hare tenderly. Conversely, Lapland tends to be a frustrating and dangerous place for the protagonist, not necessarily for the surroundings, but for the people and animals who invade his privacy. In this natural world, he finds himself irked by a raven with no manners, and takes off on a bear-hunt from Finland to Russia (then the Soviet Union), all the while on skis, and to the amusement of the Russian government, watching from a helicopter above.
Paasilinna taps into the stereotypical Finn as Vatanen produces little to no reaction to extraordinary circumstances, such as calmly invading an official, ministry dinner or quietly being thrown in jail for no reason at all--twice. From beginning to end, Vatanen never loses his humor nor cynicism for his homeland, and also his cunning ability to escape the narrowest of fate.
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Tying Loose Ends in Mexico
Author: Stevens-Falkenstein, Peggy
by Jennifer Ciotta
Tying Loose Ends in Mexico: Essays and Images from San Miguel de Allende is a poetic sojourn into the world of Mexican travel. Leave the stereotypical images of partying kids in Cancun and overprivileged celebrities in Cabo behind. Enter the world of real, authentic Mexican travel.
The author takes you on her journey of artistic and culturally-rich San Miguel de Allende as she studies Spanish at the local institute. Her experiences of the Mexican people break down cultural barriers and debunk stereotypes.
Meet Roberto, the boy who gives back to the gringos.
Take part in a pilgrimmage to the Temple of San Juan de Dios. Sing along, watch the worshippers walk on their knees.
Hear the violins and string instruments, the music which fills San Miguel.
The book also includes vibrant, colorful photos that capture the warmth of the Mexican people and the pride of their never-ending spirit. Nothing is too posed or too perfect. This photo essay journey is atypical. You will see images of wax casting, violinists playing on the low-lying rocks of a Mexican valley, the fresh selection of fruits and vegetables at a farmer's market.
As a bonus, Stevens Falkenstein provides her own paintings, inkblots and a series of sweet poems in Spanish that will delight the reader.
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Black Like Me
Author: Griffin, John Howard
By Jennifer Ciotta Black Like Me written by John Howard Griffin (New American Library 1960) is an enigma to the younger generations of the United States. However, college students of the 1960's/70's researched and wrote term papers based on this same book. Unfortunately, the popularity of Black Like Me has died throughout the decades, along with the memories of the struggle for civil rights in America. John Howard Griffin, a trained journalist, shocked the nation as he underwent a racial transformation. With the help of skin darkening medication, a sunlamp and black stain, Griffin morphed from a white Texan into a black man roaming through the Southern states of Mississippi and Louisiana. Griffin then secured his identity by shaving his head and hands bald. Yet the journalist did not change his clothes or his personality, keeping his "true" self. He did not tell others he met along the way for fear of their safety, instead they were led to believe that Griffin was an everyday "Negro." One of the most compelling sections of the book is how Griffin is horrified at the black face staring back at him in the mirror. Throughout Black Like Me the author combines a dated diary of personal daily events and his own reflections on the situation with historical facts from the year 1959. The style and tone work perfectly for the story that Griffin needed to tell--even his long monologues about civil rights seemed well-placed. To read the book in 2007 Griffin's revelations are not so startling since society has been educated about the black man's struggle in the deep South through television, movies and books. However, what still is revolutionary is discovering the actual details of the seven-week experiment itself, and the punishment Griffin endured from his white peers for committing to such a radical test and stating the facts so unapologetically in the racially-divided 1950's/60's. John Howard Griffin was an oustanding leader in the Civil Rights Movement. As an author, he takes the reader inside the "Negro" world to reveal the hardships of an oppressed people. It is a work of literature that should still be revered today, reminding the younger generation of the evils, which nearly destroyed American society. John Howard Griffin serves as a true pioneer not only in black equality, but also in expert journalism and sincere autobiographical writing.
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Angels and Demons
Author: Brown, Dan
by Katie Davis
New York Times bestselling author Dan Brown is definitely not a "one-hit wonder" of thriller fiction. Though it was his novel, The Da Vinci Code, that first caught the public eye, his earlier work, Angels & Demons, is now also a worldwide success and has been recently adapted as a major motion picture. This suspenseful page turner is certainly not for those who'd prefer a quiet book to doze off to on a Sunday afternoon.
The peaceful life of Robert Langdon, a forty-year old professor of symbology at Harvard, is brutally interrupted when he receives a mysterious five am phone call and disturbing faxed image of a man killed and branded with a puzzling symbol. Looking for answers, Langdon immediately goes to the scene of the crime, the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Switzerland, only to discover that thousands of people and millions of dollars worth of precious artifacts are at risk of being annihilated in Vatican City. Time is running out. Accompanied by an intriguing, young, nuclear scientist, Vittoria Vetra, Langdon rushes to Rome where the two of them are forced to stretch the limits of their knowledge of history, art, and cryptology in order to stop the horrific events that will occur hour by hour if they do not succeed.
Throughout the novel, Dan Brown's confident voice takes charge of the page so that readers gladly accept every plot twist and turn he throws our way. Though centered on Langdon, Brown employs many points of view, from cameraman to cardinal, which greatly enriches the fabric of the story and effectively muddles the line between villain and ally, keeping us guessing until the astounding finish. His extensive use of historical and religious details does not appear at all textbook-like in nature, but instead the information is so deeply entangled in the exhilarating events that we forget we're actually learning something after all. Through Angels & Demons, Dan Brown brings to life the wonders of the ancient world as never before, forging an unforgettable connection between the constructions of the past and their undeniable impacts on the future.
THE WESTIN EXCELSIOR ROME
ANGELS & DEMONS PACKAGE
Decode secret messages and solve puzzles hidden in ancient sculptures and texts in the 'Path of Illumination,' the official Angels & Demons tour.
Make your stay in Rome a once-in-a-lifetime literary experience!
Click on the demonic angel for all the details.
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