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Lumikko Ja Yhdeksän Muuta (2006)

by Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen(Favorite Author)

3.59 of 5 Votes: 4

languge

English

genre

Fantasy

publisher

Atena Kustannus Oy

review 1: This book started well only to meander into indifference, I began to lose interest in the story and characters at about the half way mark. The mysticism and quirkiness were not quite enough to force me through to the end, the writing itself is interesting and there is some delightfully surreal humour in places, but I just couldn't finish it. A shame, as the blurb held such promise, and perhaps it does get better, but the lull in plot development got the better of me.
review 2: It has been quite chilly in the evenings the last few days. Each night my husband has made a campfire and we have sat around the smoky flames for upwards of two hours. This book has been my companion, and a great late-autumn read. The fictional town of Rabbit Back is excellently laid out ... moreas a small, cold-weather community in Finland with a famous literary society. Laura White is a reclusive, world-renowned author of the Creatureville books, a children's magical/mythological series. In order to foster creative development and glean story inspiration, she has set up the Rabbit Back Literature Society- a group of nine select individuals to be fostered under her authorial guidance. There are typical homework-like assignments, and then there are other more disturbing parts of the society for it's members, namely "The Game". This requires deep truths to be revealed by the "challenged" individual, and the methods vary to get this "spilling" to occur. Cryptic enough? It's a secret society so this is par for the course. Ella Milana is a substitute teacher who is selected to join the prestigious society as the tenth and final member of the group. Before the honor is officially bestowed on her, White disappears at a party in dramatic fashion. This turmoil, along with disturbing facts illuminated while playing the Game, book infections in the local library, and mysterious events concerning town animals, make this a riveting read. The style and presentation of the story is so unusual, as well as the characters. While I found this off-putting at first, I gradually became intrigued by the odd behavior of essentially every character...Ingrid and her walks, Winter and his gluttony, Ella and her preoccupation with her appearance. I never could quite sort out what was happening and the connections between it all. I have a semi-formed idea in my head as I write this, but I find it shifting constantly (even now). At times I was annoyed, but the Scandinavian setting, magical realism, and pacing of the story worked. Life is inexplicable and surreal, and storytelling is precious. That was my main takeaway from the book. I love books about book creation or the art of storytelling, and am always on the lookout for this subject. I appreciated the chance to review such a novel, as it scratched that book-loving itch! I wish there had been more content relating to the mystery and more information provided, because I feel a little lost. However, this was probably the intent. This book will jar the reader out of their comfort zone, and hopefully be better for it. Fast-paced and full of mythology/lore, I would pick it up for some delicious cold weather reading. less

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