pavlo_illiashenko's reviews
209 reviews

The Rabbit Factor by Antti Tuomainen

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adventurous dark funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Here is a brief summary of what the book is and what it is not:
  • not a page-turner
  • not particularly educational about the Finish society
  • not a suspenseful crime/mystery/thriller
  • is not scary (you feel that everything will be alright)
  • is not complex and is not philosophical
  • is definitely original and unusual
  • is funny (dry, deadpan humor, see a few quotes below)
  • is a light read (killing a person with the ear of a plastic rabbit is rather lighthearted)
  • is reasonably entertaining (you want to know what happens next)
  • is an easy introduction to money laundering 
  • is a good setup for the rest of the trilogy 

Here is what to expect about the humor:
  • "Then I began attending to the broken rabbit. I can’t understand how anyone managed to make its right ear fall off. The ear starts growing at a height of two and a half metres. The average height of our clients is around one metre, twenty centimetres, and the median is lower still".
  • "On top of this, he had already been married and divorced twice, which to my mind demonstrated a weak, unpromising grasp of the notion of cause and effect. A junior mathematician ought to know better".
  • "At some point I’d switched on Juhani’s computer, but without the password I hadn’t got very far".
  • "Our childhood was chaotic. Our parents took turns losing their grip on various aspects of everyday life".
  • "It turns out customer service is very difficult. And it’s because of the customers".
The Saviour of Lasnamäe by Mari Saat, Susan Wilson

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dark emotional funny hopeful slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

It is as if Aki Kaurismäki directed a short movie based on classical Russian literature with all its uplifting doom and gloom, glorification of suffering, and resistance despite a perceived lack of agency. Not overly psychologized social realism with very believable characters. No messages and lessons, just an exposure to someone's story.