Original: Jäniksen vuosi (1975), translated from the Finnish by Herbert Lomas (1995). Paperback edition reprinted 2003. 136 pages.
Belongs to the UNESCO Collection of Representative Works and to the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die.

A picaresque novel with an ecological theme. By far the best among novels by Arto Paasilinna. Greatly recommended!
I have my copy in Finnish, as well as a copy in Swedish and another in French waiting for further use - this Hare is such a visiting card that I would proudly pass out :)

-ruzena

Enjoy!

Arrived today, this generous RABCK! I'm so happy! :)
Thank you, ruzena. I really appreciate this.
Thank you for the beautiful card, too. Kaunis Suomi!... (sigh) :)
Kiitos!

I enjoyed myself so much with Vatanen and his journey to freedom! Paasilinna always knows how to shape characters that act outside the mainstream and, therefore, are hardly understood by their peers. I love his sense of humor and the way he transfigures supposedly complicated situations into fascinating adventures. In Paasilinna’s books, I can always feel the serenity of the Finnish landscape, which brings me great comfort. I can’t say if it is necessary to know and to love Finland to like Paasilinna’s books, but it is certainly an aspect that allows understanding them better. In this case, I believe the hare is virtually irrelevant.
Thank you SO much for sharing this book with me, ruzena. Soon, Vatanen and his hare will travel to Tsjara’s bookshelf, in Holland.

Sent today to Tsjara, after the wishlist tag game.
I hope you will enjoy this journey as much as I did.

Warm greetings!

That was quick! The book is here already (with another wishlist book, Cloud Atlas, and a nice card :D). Thank you so much Arvores for brightening my day with your lovely parcel!
I love how on the back of the cover it says that Vatanen goes in search of the injured Hare (after hitting it with the car), and that the grateful animal adopts Vatanen. :)
Really looking forward to read it.

This was a quirky read and I quite liked it. It’s interesting to me that this was written in the 1970’s and even then there was the feeling that people are too disconnected from nature.

Released the book in the yellow bookcase next to the elevators in the main hall. Happy travels!