Howling Miller [Paperback]

Arto Paasilinna (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 14, 2007

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 animals and making fun of the village notables. Already prejudiced against him by his jibes, the villagers reserve most ire for the howling which Huttunen indulges in at night, which the local dogs join in delirious chorus. Passionate and outraged by his treatment at the hands of the villagers, it is not long before the accident-prone miller finds that his situation soon spirals out of control...Paasilinna's riotous book revels in a black, rebellious, deadpan humour. It is also a fable about the eternal struggle between freedom and repressive authority.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

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 Käyrämö, Gunnar gets into trouble after going on a drunken rampage. He's institutionalized and escapes, only to find himself persona non grata back in the village. Here, though, Paasilinna—whose work has been widely translated—loses steam as the narrative becomes a slow dirge of Gunnar's exiled life in the woods as he gets by on dumb luck and help from Sanelma and a few sympathetic townsfolk. While, for instance, Gunnar's daring trip to town to watch a sporting event adds excitement, the play-by-play of his life on the lam is more a whimper than a howl. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From School Library Journal

Gunnar Huttunen buys an abandoned flour mill in a small village in northern Finland after World War II and is soon labeled eccentric when the villagers witness him imitating animals and howling at night. His behavior becomes intolerable after he goes on a rampage in the general store, and the local doctor gets Gunnar committed to a mental asylum. After a short time there, he escapes and hides in the forest, evading capture with the help of a few friends—the drunken postman, a sympathetic police constable, and Sanelma Käyrämö, the horticulture adviser who has fallen in love with him. Finally, the police track him down and shackle him to his constable friend, Portimo. They escape into the woods, where they are supposedly transformed into a wolf and a dog. Paasilinna (The Year of the Hare), winner of numerous Finnish and international literary prizes, illustrates the cost of nonconformity with his trademark subtle humor in this playful fable. The author was born in Lapland and has written more than 28 novels, many of which have been translated into numerous languages. This one is recommended for readers interested in folktales and/or Finland.—Lisa Rohrbaugh, New Middletown, OH
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 284 pages
• Publisher: Canongate Books Ltd (June 14, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1841959561
• ISBN-13: 978-1841959566
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,272,255 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not a howling success, December 15, 2009

By 

D. P. Birkett (Suffern, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Howling Miller (Paperback)

This has an interesting setting, in Northern Finland in the fifties. Gunaar Huttunen, the howling miller, gets himself locked up in a horrendous state hospital then escapes and lives a Thoreau-like existence in the forest, helped by a sympathetic girl friend. The basic theme is the old notion of a wise benign eccentric whose amiable antics are mistaken by stupid people for madness.
Some humor is derived from the simple-mindedness of the characters. Huttunen's antagonists are hypocritical buffoons who deserve the tricks he plays on them. The author invites us to sympathize with Huttunen's mental condition but portrays a woman suffering from severe obesity who has become unable to walk as an object of ridicule.
Much of the dialog sounds stilted, even allowing for the fact that it's been translated from Finnish to French and then into British English. For example Huttunen explains his actions in such terms as "I just feel so perky sometimes that I want to lark around."
I think it was Arto Paasilinna's intent to create a mythic, larger-than-life hero who is persecuted for marching to the beat of a different drummer. There's a semi-mythic atmosphere. Huttunen performs stupendous physical feats and much of the action is fantastically unlikely. There's a suggestion of transmogrification.

5.0 out of 5 stars This Book Is a Hoot!, March 28, 2011

By 

Fred L. Olson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Howling Miller (Paperback)

When starting to read this book, you must let yourself go and enjoy the far-fetched humor. The author, Arto, has created characters who are larger-than-life, in impossible situations, in this fantasy story from Northern Finland, time 1950s. It was translated from Finnish to French and from French to British English adds to its uniqueness. Relax and enjoy and appreciate the humor. The subtext is the abuse of power and how those in power wield that power unevenly. And Arto's understanding of nature, survival, water mills and small-town life make this 1981 book an enjoyable read right now. But beware, you may start howling yourself! This review was written by Marjory Olson, not Fred.