The Howling Miller
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- £5.99
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- £5.99
Publisher Description
When Gunnar Huttunen turns up in a small village to restore its run-down mill, its inhabitants are wary. Gunnar is big. He's a bit odd. And, strangest of all, he howls wildly at night.
If Gunnar is different, then he must be mad, the villagers decide. Hounded from his home, he must find a way to survive the wilds of nature and the greater savagery of civilization.
The Howling Miller is a dark fairytale of community, conformity and our place in the world.
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 K yr m , 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.
