About this title: Gunnar Huttunen arrives in North Finland after the war and buys a dilapidated mill. Despite being a decent and hard-working Finn, he is also an outsider and an eccentric: prone to mood swings, black depression, high elation, and a general lack of decorum. He puts on performances at the mill for local children at which he specialises in imitating ...
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Description: Good. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Like New. 2008-Paperback-May contain minor shelf-wear. Otherwise, volume un-read and in "As-New" condition. -Used-Like New-Hall Street Books proudly ships from Brooklyn, NY. All orders are processed and shipped within 24 hours, M-F. 100% money back No-Worry guarantee with expedited delivery and delivery confirmation available. read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Canongate U.S.
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9781847671813ISBN:1847671810
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. 284 p. Advance Reading Copy, trade paperback from Canongate, 2008. UNREAD, but w/light edgewear. read more
Description: Like New. 2007-Paperback-May contain minor shelf-wear. Otherwise, volume un-read and in "As-New" condition. -Used-Like New-Hall Street Books proudly ships from Brooklyn, NY. All orders are processed and shipped within 24 hours, M-F. 100% money back No-Worry guarantee with expedited delivery and delivery confirmation available. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Canongate U. S
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9781847671813ISBN:1847671810
Description: New, Publisher overstock, may have small remainder mark. Excellent condition, never read, purchased from publisher as excess inventory. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Canongate U. S
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9781847671813ISBN:1847671810
Description: New, Publisher overstock, may have small remainder mark. Excellent condition, never read, purchased from publisher as excess inventory. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Canongate U.S.
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9781847671813ISBN:1847671810
Description: Fine. Canongate U.S. 2008 Prerelease version. Green wraps. From Gunnar Huttunen, the cranky protagonist of Paasilinna's dreary novel, never learned to use an inside voice. Ranging north from southern Finland after WWII, the widower takes over a long-abandoned mill in Suukosi, much to the amusement of the uptight townspeople. He quickly becomes the local eccentric, renowned for, among other things, his imitations of forest creatures. Despite winning the affection of respected local Sanelma ... read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Canongate U.S.
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9781847671813ISBN:1847671810
Description: Fine. Canongate U.S. 2008 Prerelease version. Olive green wraps. From Gunnar Huttunen, the cranky protagonist of Paasilinna's dreary novel, never learned to use an inside voice. Ranging north from southern Finland after WWII, the widower takes over a long-abandoned mill in Suukosi, much to the amusement of the uptight townspeople. He quickly becomes the local eccentric, renowned for, among other things, his imitations of forest creatures. Despite winning the affection of respected local ... read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Canongate Books Ltd
Date Published: 2008-10-01
ISBN-13:9781847671813ISBN:1847671810
Description: NEW. Softcover. From an inventory that is 100% brand-new, 100% direct from the publishers' distribution channel. We carry NO pre-owned, NO remaindered. We pack in CARDBOARD to ensure the pristine quality is maintained. (Bubble-wrap alone is NOT sufficient to protect from USPS equipment. ) Guaranteed brand-NEW, protected with CARDBOARD, your satisfaction is guaranteed. BKLUVID: 9781847671813. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Canongate U. S
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9781847671813ISBN:1847671810
Description: New. Brand New! Buy with confidence-your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics! Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. Please note that Expedited shipping is not available at this time. read more
Description: New. Please note that deliveries to addresses in the UK and Europe will be in 4-14 business days. Other countries should refer to Alibris standard times. ISBN10: 1841959561. read more
Description: New. PLEASE NOTE that we do not offer expedited shipping. Orders placed with the priority shipping option will automatically be canceled. ISBN10: 1841959561. read more
"A stranger buy a run-down mill in a small Finnish town. He refurbishes it and repairs it. Meanwhile, the townspeople notice that he is a little strange. Soon enough, they start to persecute him.
The howling miller is a fairly easy novel to read. The Finnish names do add an element of quirkiness purely on account of being Finnish, but the novel itself, a fable/parable is reasonably interesting. Throughout the book, the hero turns out to be not much more crazy, or perhaps even rather less so, than his contemporaries. At the same time, they look at him with different eyes. Perhaps it is because they don't have mirrors and cannot see themselves.
Some things in the story are a bit baffling. The passing of time is often poorly indicated - he must have lived in the village for several months between the first and second chapters etc. - which can be a bit confusing. Some of the characters seem to be there for a purpose that is not their own. The love interest seems little more than windowdressing - she exists only because the story needs her, not because she is ever a convincing character in her own right.
In other words, this book is not flawless. It did, however, hold my attention, and it was a reasonably enjoyable read. The final chapter seems a little rushed (and I would have ended the story differently), but on the whole, it's worth a read."
"Akin to Enemy of the People, Paasilinna's miller has some idiosyncracies that annoy his neighbors. By turns a howling hermit and socially inept storyteller, the miller defies the comfortable village categories. The concise and sharp-toothed writing operates in a stark psychological landscape that mimics the frozen black and whites of the Finnish winter. Contrast his fugitive nature story, with the American tradition from Thoreau to "Into the Wild," and you learn how particular the mythology of American mavericks is."
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