The Rabbit Factor by Antti Tuomainen (translated by David Hackston)

Today I am absolutely delighted to be sharing my review of The Rabbit Factor by Antti Tuomainen and translated by David Hackston. Huge thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours for inviting me and to the publisher for my review copy. I have also bought my own print copy.

The Blurb

Award-winning author Antti Tuomainen launches his first series with The Rabbit Factor, an energetic black comedy, currently being adapted for the screen by Amazon/Mandeville Films with Steve Carell to star, and Antti executive producing.

What makes life perfect? Insurance mathematician Henri Koskinen knows the answer because he calculates everything down to the very last decimal. Until he is faced with the incalculable, after a series of unforeseeable events.

After suddenly losing his job, Henri inherits an adventure park from his brother – its peculiar employees and troubling financial problems included. The worst of the financial issues appear to originate from big loans taken from some dangerous men who are very keen to get their money back. 

All improbable and complicated problems. But what Henri really can’t compute is love. In the adventure park, Henri crosses paths with Laura, a happy-go-lucky artist with a chequered past, whose erratic lifestyle bewilders him. As the criminals go to increasingly extreme lengths to collect their debts and as Henri’s relationship with Laura deepens, he finds himself faced with situations and emotions that simply cannot be pinned down on his spreadsheets...

The Rabbit Factor is published by Orenda Books and is out today!

My Review

This is the second book of Antti Tuomainen's that I've read following the excellent Little Siberia, which I really enjoyed. But I enjoyed this one more. I am so tempted for my review just to say this book is perfect and I loved it and leave it there,  because it is and I did! But I'll say a little more...I smiled most of the way through reading it, laughed out loud occasionally and read bits out to people. 

Growing up in a chaotic environment, young Henri Koskinen finds comfort in the order of mathematics and it becomes a major part of his life - he applies mathematical principles and calculations to pretty much every area of his life - how much furniture he buys for his apartment, his route to work and the time he leaves, his efficiency at work and the fact he has no time for small talk. It is no surprise to find him working as an actuary, and a very good one at that, until he unexpectedly loses his job. Shortly after this, he learns he has inherited an adventure park - not an amusement park, to be clear - from his free spirited brother, Juhani. A quick look at the park's books shows that all is not how it seems financially, and unsavoury men start calling at the park looking for Juhani. Henri also inherits all the staff at the park with their idiosyncratic ways and suddenly finds his life descending into a level of chaos, and danger, that maths cannot solve... 

Henri is a fabulous character. I love how quirky he is. Although it says nowhere in the book, I wonder if he is on the autistic spectrum with his obsession with mathematics and lack of social skills, but I loved how he grew during the course of the book. And he's fabulously funny, although often without meaning to be. There's a moment early on when he's passing comment on a colleague's relationship history that had me laughing out loud and reading the passage out to others. His treatment of telesales people was another section that had me laughing out loud, although Henri sees nothing funny about it himself, he just does what he feels is logical. Such as tell a story about Wertheimer and Einstein when in a sticky situation - although I'm not sure Henri realises how sticky it is - with a couple of criminal types. He just does what comes naturally to him. 

But as we see in the book, inheriting the adventure park with its staff and apparent debt, causes Henri to occasionally turn away from the safety of maths and he begins to subtly change. He discovers art, and how it makes him feel new things, about making people happy and a little about love. His conversations with colleagues are often funny - I'm thinking particularly of Henri channelling his former boss (whose motivational speech he had described as 'somewhere between reading a bedside story and negotiating a hostage situation') when in conversation with new employee Krisitian - but they feel real, sometimes poignant and well observed. And he learns how to negotiate too.

There is a quirky cast of supporting characters here, all richly described and brought to life. The most obvious to bring up is Laura as she has the most impact on Henri, and I loved how they were complete opposites. And I loved seeing the impact she has on him. But the other adventure park employees are equally colourful and every one of them has their part to play. The bad guys too are brilliantly described and suitably sinister. But I think one of my favourite characters was policeman Osmala - he brought to mind TV cop Columbo a little.

I'm not going to tell you much about the story because, honestly, you need to read it for yourself, but it features spreadsheets, sinister cinnamon rolls, loan sharks, a three metre high plastic rabbit, freezers and love. It's quite a ride! And the ending is just perfect.

The Rabbit Factor is an absolute gem of a book. Antti Tuomainen has brought together the slightly absurd and the everyday and created a fantastic story with a brilliant central character. Who else would write a crime story where the hero is an actuary?! This is a beautifully told tale, full of humour and warmth, and jeopardy, with keen observations on society and relationships. There was absolutely nothing I didn't like. It was just perfect and I loved it. Roll on the next book! 

Just before I go, a big shout out to translators, because I don't mention them often enough. Reading translated fiction has opened up a whole new world to me and I wouldn't be able to do that without these talented individuals, in this case David Hackston, so a huge thank you to him and translators everywhere. Keep up the good work! 

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 most recent 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.

Remember to check out the rest of the tour!