Finnish author Antti Tuomainen is known for his original, off–beat story lines tinged with dark, wry humour. With The Rabbit Factor, the first of a new trilogy and his seventh novel, he certainly doesn’t disappoint.
Antti prefers his protagonists flawed and human, whether it’s a Finnish mushroom entrepreneur or a priest having a crisis of faith, they’re true originals. This time around our “Antti–hero” is Henri Koskinen, an insurance actuary, who is in full control of his life and plans everything meticulously with calculated precision. Until two variables are introduced to his life – 1. He quits his job and 2. he inherits YouMeFun, his recently deceased brother’s adventure park.
For the most part Henri enjoys his job as an insurance actuary because of the “… pursuit of perfect clarity, precision, impeccable balance, water–tight presentation, flawlessness.” What he doesn’t enjoy is the forced team spirit employees have to endure to move up the corporate ladder. When his boss puts Henri before the choice of a demotion to a monotonous number–crunching job in a basement office or a three-hour seminar on transcendental meditation Henri instantly quits his job and leaves with an empty suitcase with nothing in it but a picture of Schopenhauer, his cat.
Shortly after Juhani, Henri’s brother, has a heart attack in his Volvo while changing the radio station. The impact of the sad news is exacerbated by the announcement that Henri inherited Juhani’s adventure park (NOT amusement park!) and his brother’s final request was that Henri turns the financially failing business into a lucrative one.
Easier said than done. Henri first has to keep the wolves from the door – in this case the (loan)sharks who won’t hesitate to use violence to get their money back. Over the next few weeks Henri becomes closely acquainted with the man with the reptilian eyes, his “not-so-little helper” AK and their boss, an aspiring baker who is serious about cinnamon buns.
“I am an actuary. As a rule, I don’t run adventure parks, and I certainly dn’t batter people to death with giant, plastic rabbit ears.”
On top of appeasing dodgy criminals Henri has to manage his new staff. Tuomainen gathers a cast of colourful characters including an artist; a former nursery teacher; an over–ambitious maintenance manager; a marketing manager fond of day drinking gin and smoking menthol Pall Malls and an employee who has never showed up for work. Among these employees is Laura, a woman whose spontaneity catches Henri completely off–guard and has him questioning the unexpected emotions he has to deal with for the first time. For once his calculations are utterly useless.
Tuomainen has been branded “King of Helsinki noir”, but despite this title and citing Raymond Chandler as one of his influences, he goes a step further by taking the best of noir and adding his own flair. The Rabbit Factor is infused with astute, often comical observations. The policeman investigating the criminals is a man who “blends in with the surroundings about as well as the Easter Island statues” and the marketing manager’s voice in the morning is “so rasping that it could sand down a small spruce tree.” Despite their flaws and oddities we warm to these characters. Even the distant, unemotional Henri with his unique way of looking at the world eventually reveals his human side.
It’s been said that the Finns have a dry sense of humour, are introverted and masters of self–deprecation. They also enjoy making jokes and don’t take themselves too seriously. If this is the case, David Hackston, needs to be lauded for his translation – these qualities shine through in the Hackston’s vivid translation. We might not be able to experience Finnish humour first hand, but David’s translation brings us pretty damn close.
Another round of applause is necessary for Mark Swan’s cover design which will not only turn any graphic designer luminous green with envy, but also captures the essence of the novel perfectly.
Never predictable and never boring, Antti Tuomainen again delivers a fresh crime fiction novel with a perfect balance between dark and light.
Next year we have the second of the trilogy, The Moose Paradox, to look forward to and either next year or, more likely, in 2023, The Rabbit Factor will also hit our screens with Steve Carell as the socially awkward Henri Koskinen. And we know the book is always better than the movie, so you’d better get reading before then.
The Rabbit Factor is published by Orenda Books. Thank you to Karen at Orenda and Random Things Tours for providing me with a review copy and inviting me to take part in the tour. Have a look at the rest of the reviews on this tour on the schedule below.
About the author
Antti Tuomainen was an award-winning copywriter when he made his literary debut in 2007 as a suspense author in 2013, the Finnish press crowned Tuomainen the ‘King of Helsinki Noir ’ when Dark as My Heart was published. With a piercing and evocative style, Tuomainen was one of the first to challenge the Scandinavian crime genre formula, and his poignant, dark and hilarious The Man Who Died became an international bestseller, shortlisting for the Petrona and Last Laugh Awards. A TV adaptation is in the works, and Jussi Vatanen (Man In Room 301) has just been announced as a leading role. Palm Beach Finland was an immense success, with Marcel Berlins (The Times) calling Tuomainen ‘the funniest writer in Europe’. His latest thriller, Little Siberia, was shortlisted for the CWA International Dagger, the Amazon Publishing /Capital Crime Awards and the CrimeFest Last Laugh Award, and won the Petrona Award for Best Scandinavian Crime Novel of the Year. In total, Antti Tuomainen has been short- and longlisted for 12 UK awards.
About the translator
David Hackston is a British translator of Finnish and Swedish literature and drama. He graduated from University College London with a degree in Scandinavian Studies and now lives in Helsinki where he works as a freelance translator. Notable recent publications include the Anna Fekete trilogy by Kati Hiekkapelto, Katja Kettu’s wartime epic The Midwife, four novels by ‘Helsinki noir’ author Antti Tuomainen, and Pajtim Statovci’s enigmatic My Cat Yugoslavia and Crossing. His drama translations include three plays by Heini Junkkaala, most recently Play it, Billy! (2012) about the life and times of jazz pianist Billy Tipton. David was a regular contributor to Books from Finland until its discontinuation in 2015. In 2007, he was awarded the Finnish State Prize for Translation. David is also a professional countertenor and has studied early music and performance practice in Helsinki and Portugal. He is a founding member of the English Vocal Consort of Helsinki. (source: https://www.nationalbook.org/people/david-hackston)
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