Meri, Veijo "The Manila Rope"

Meri, Veijo "The Manila Rope" (Finnish: Manillaköysi) - 1957

This was the Finnish book in our international online book club book in May 2022.

Since the main one "The Easy Life in Kamusari" was so short, I added this to my list. Another short story about a country about which we never read enough.

A war story, yet quite funny. Soldiers on their way home for home leave during the war keep telling each other stories of what happened to them or others and their way back and to the battlefields or even on the battlefields. Sounds like a sad war story but most of the tales are pretty humorous.

Definitely an anti-war story. Quite strange at times but definitely very readable. Short and sweet.

Comment from another member:
I would not have picked up this book if it were not for the book club again and am again some wiser. The many stories amused me a lot, (and some horrified me, like the one about the greedy pigs) but under the surface there was a lot of insights into what the wartime was like for my grandparents who were in the army then. It interested me to see from a very narrow perspective how day to day happenings were told to others, as there were no social media or televisions with news back then. I feel nowadays the war is often looked at from above and observed as a whole, in history books and in movies, while then all you knew was your orders and what rumours you heard from others.

From the back cover:

"Veijo Meri's novel is set in Finland during the last years of World War II. On a crowded troop train winding its way through the winter landscape, the home-going soldiers pass their time playing cards, drinking, snoozing, and exchanging stories of the battlefield. It is these stories (constantly interrupted by station stops, the intrusion of the military police, and simple fatigue) that make up the vibrant fabric of the novel. Laughter is the predominant note: the laughter of men newly released from the terror of battle. Though frequently macabre in detail and brutally realistic in its descriptions of men at war, the book is pervaded by a robust sense of comedy that purges combat of all taint of hatred and clearly underlines the essential and tragic ridiculousness of war."

Jansson, Tove "Moominsummer Madness"

Jansson, Tove "Moominsummer Madness" (Finnish: Vaarallinen juhannus) - 1954

I hadn't read anything about the "Moomins" but I'd heard about them and seen their pictures everywhere. They're cute. I can only explain my ignorance of the books by the fact that we spent most of our sons' childhoods in England where they were not as popular as elsewhere.

So, I never read the "Moomins" as a child nor did I read them while my children were little. I suppose my perspective would have been a little different.

I read it with my online book club, all of us grown-ups, some of us with little kids, others with no kids or grown-up kids, like me. And a large number of Finnish members which is why this book was chosen, I guess. I quite liked it though I think I would have enjoyed it more if I'd read it with a child. Or maybe if I'd read the first book first. This was number 5 and the author assumed we know who is who and, even more important, what is what. So, the Moomins belong to the trolls, then there are mymbles, hemuls, fillyjonks, and a rat.

The Moomins live in a house in Moomin valley. When a volcano erupts, the valley is flooded and the Moomins have to seek shelter elsewhere. They find a theatre that they don't recognize as such since they've never seen or heard of one before but in the end they even present a play, even if somewhat haphazardly.

There is plenty of depth in the story, though, to be enjoyed by adults, as well. The characters may be eccentric but they seem to be just as "normal" as us human beings. Good writing and good psychology. The story is easy to follow yet not boring.

This was our international online book club read in March 2021.

Some thoughts by the members:

• I felt the book really uplifted my spirit, while we are living isolated from travel and much wild adventures.
• Some of the author's special ideals and characteristics came out well in the story, too, I think. 
• And the ending was hilarious with the totally ruined theatre.
• I found it very philosophical, positive, and quirky. 
  

From the back cover:

"When a flood sweeps through the valley, the Moomins must find a new house. And with typical Moomin good luck, one just happens to be floating by. It looks normal enough, but there are curtains where one wall should be, strange rows of lights, and other odd amenities. Then Moomintroll and the Snork Maiden disappear, and the family realize that the house may hold the answers to more than they ever dreamed."

Fatland, Erika "The Border"

Fatland, Erika "The Border: A Journey Around Russia Through North Korea, China, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Poland, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Norway, and the Northeast Passage" (Norwegian: Grensen: En reise rundt Russland gjennom Nord-Korea, Kina, Mongolia, Kasakhstan, Aserbajdsjan, Georgia, Ukraina, Hviterussland, Litauen, Polen, Latvia, Estland, Finland og Norge samt Nordøstpassasjen) - 2017

I usually don't review books here that have not been translated into English, yet. However, I have read that this one is supposed to be published soon and therefore, I want to whet your appetites already.

The author is a Norwegian journalist and she took a trip all around the Russian border. She visited every single country, even those that are not internationally recognized, like the de facto sovereign states in the Caucasus, though, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Adjara, Nagorno-Karabakh and Donetsk. It was not easy to get into some of them. To get into Nagorno-Karabakh, she had to travel into Armenia because you cannot enter it from Azerbaijan to which it still officially belongs.

She visited all those parts with a lot of difficulties and spoke to the people there who told her about recent and former history and you can learn a lot about that part of the world. I think it's good if we know more about the largest, very powerful and probably most dangerous country in the world.

We talk about a great, well-written book where we feel we are travelling with the author, we discover the countries with her, the people who live there and their history. Fantastic.

This is the second book about Russia and its history that Erika Fatland has written. Her first one "Sovietistan: Travels in Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan" is on my TBR pile now. I am sure I will learn just as much from that book as I did from this one.

From the back cover: (translated)

"Russia's border is the longest in the world. Erika Fatland takes us on a trip to Russia's fourteen neighbour countries, from North Korea to North Norway and through the North-East Passage. The journey goes through wonderful landscapes and highly diverse communities what only have one thing in common: We are all Russia's neighbours.

It's also a trip through the dramatic stories of Russia's neighbours'. In any case, they have been influenced by the proximity of this mighty empire. We meet tsars that are addicted to conquests, brave adventurers and courageous individuals and Chinese dictators. The author visits contemporary conflict areas like the Ukraine whose borders with Putin's Russia have started to move again. 

Erika Fatland shows her special abilities again to get close to people whom she meets on her way and lets them tell her a bit about the big stories of living near the border."

 

Expected publication in English: February 2nd, 2021.

Jacobsen, Roy "The Burnt-Out Town of Miracles"

Jacobsen, Roy "The Burnt-Out Town of Miracles" (Hoggerne) - 2005

It says in the description: "'The Burnt-Out Town of Miracles' is not a novel about war, but about the lives of ordinary people dragged into war." True. I think that's what makes this novel so interesting. I know little about Finland during the war. I guess if you're not Finnish, the same goes for you. We know about Norway and Denmark being occupied, Poland being invaded, we know about the battles between the Germans and the Russians, the Baltic countries but very little is often said about Finland during the war even though they had two big fights with the Russians, tee Winter War in 1939/40 and in the Continuation War in 1941/44, so more or less during most of the war. Probably because very little often is said about Finland in general.

Timo is a woodcutter who lives in Suomussalmi and is asked to leave his village in 1939 together with the rest of the inhabitants. But he resists. He is the only one who doesn't obey, he doesn't burn down his house and stays.

When the Soviet soldiers arrive, he is the only one available to show them how to survive the harsh winter.

Even though Timo is not exactly known for his intelligence, to say the least (on the contrary, he is regarded as the village idiot), he is a brave character, someone born to survive. He tells the story, you can feel his determination not to give in, not to the Finnish order, not to the Soviets. He is Timo and he is the only one who gives him orders. He is one of the small heroes, those we don't hear about but without whom humanity would not survive.

A good book that gives you a lot to think about.

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2025.

From the back cover:

"Set in Finland in 1939, this is the story of one man who remains in his home town when everyone else has fled, burning down their houses in their wake, before the invading Russians arrive.

Timo remains behind because he can't imagine life anywhere else, doing anything else besides felling the trees near his home. This is a novel about belonging - a tale of powerful and forbidden friendships forged during a war, of unexpected bravery and astonishing survival instincts.

'The Burnt-Out Town of Miracles' is not a novel about war, but about the lives of ordinary people dragged into war, each of whom only wants to find the path back home.

Roy Jacobsen uses the dramatic natural landscape of light and darkness, fire-blazing heat and life-robbing cold to spectacular effect."

Raittila, Hannu "Canal Grande"

Raittila, Hannu "Canal Grande" (Finnish: Canal Grande) - 2001

I don't think I would have ever found this book if it wasn't for Bookcrossing. You know, the site that "encourages readers to read, register, and release books for others to enjoy." Great idea because I would have missed a good laugh.

A group of Finnish scientists is going to Venice in order to prevent it from sinking. The Finnish and Italian mentality and … uhm … work ethic clash, to say the least.

A funny, totally absurd novel, partly chaotic, partly incredibly hilarious. I loved it. If you want to find out more about the people from that small Scandinavian country, read this book.

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2025.

From the back cover:

"What happens when a group of five Finnish experts travel to Venice as part of a UNESCO project to try to save the the town from sinking?

Well, a lot of nonsense is happening. And yet everything is also quite profound.

Hilarious, intelligent, full of allusions to literature, art and culture, 'Canal Grande' is an extraordinarily unusual novel, an entertaining engagement not only with Venice, but also with Western culture."