Mr. B’s Reading Year No. 5: The Howling Miller by Arto Paasilinna (1981) - translated by Will Hobson from the French of Anne Collin du Terrail (Le Meunier Hurlant)

A slightly odd book?  Perhaps, but as one critic puts it, “beautifully written and strangely moving”.  The main character, the miller, Gunnar Huuttunen, is an odd individual for sure - he howls like a wolf now and then -  but he is hard working, straight and persecuted.  That persecution from his neighbours is definitely unfair and undeserved, but circumstances unfold in this fable in an unpredictably predictable way.  How he keeps going, being sent to an asylum, escaping and living wild, is a wonder and you feel for him.  His kind, increasingly supportive, girlfriend, the horticulturalist Sanelma Käyrämö, sees him through a series of mishaps and adventures.  The great and the good of the local town, particularly the chief of police and doctor, have it in for Gunnar, for no obviously good reason.  Having evaded the army, Gunnar is ultimately tricked and captured to be sent back to the asylum.  He is with his friend, the constable Portimo, on the train, but mysteriously they never arrive at the asylum.  However, equally mysteriously, a big lone wolf appears in the neighbourhood and wreaks a little revenge on the chief and doctor.  It must by Gunnar, but who knows?  The final fable is alluring, but the beauty of this book is with Gunnar and those closest to him.  Surely a little more understanding would help the world go round.


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